Red Wolfe
by Bekahbee
Summary: NEW! Chapter 25 Despite the past, the flame between them still burns.Will they forgive each other or let the past consume them? Sequel to Little Red and Ryan Wolfe. Ryan/OC
1. Sleepless Nights

Monday morning. Bright and early.

Keats woke up in partial darkness and yawned as she looked at her clock. It read 5:45 and it continued to blink, despite her best efforts to shut it off.

"…stop, damn you…" she mumbled, pitching it across the room. It slammed against her closet door with a resounding echo.

Sloane pushed the door open lazily, wrapping her pink terry cloth robe around herself.

"That's the tenth time this month you've thrown your alarm clock. You've either got to wake up quieter or quit your job." She said, snuggling into Keats' bed. Keats debated sleeping in and telling Horatio that Sloane had gone into labor, but she thought better of it.

She slumped into the bathroom and did her makeup, wincing as she heard her sister's husband cutting logs in the next room. His snores had kept her up many nights, but that was a small price to pay when she considered the alternative.

She couldn't bear the thought of being alone. She was afraid she'd miss Ryan too much.

Several months ago, Keats had taken the cowardly road and told Ryan that she wasn't quite ready to get married. But instead of asking him to wait for her…

She ended the relationship. And she'd regretted that decision ever since.

Keats strolled down the hall of Miami Dade, on her way to the ballistics lab to examine shell casings with Calleigh Duquesne.

"Morning, Sunshine. I take it these early shifts aren't your style." She said, smiling. She handed her a few photographs of the bullets extracted from the victim's body. Keats looked over them with mild interest.

No matter what she was doing, she couldn't enjoy it before seven a.m.

CSI Ryan Wolfe poured a full cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup. He stirred in a little bit of sugar, leaving it almost completely black.

"Wolfe, I never see you here before noon. What's the occasion?" Eric Delko asked, entering the break room. He discarded something in the trash and stood beside Ryan.

"Ah, nothing." He said, sipping his coffee.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with Remington being here this early, would it?" Eric wondered with a handsome smirk. Ryan stared off into space and said nothing.

"Look, I don't know what's going on with the two of you, but whatever it is, you need to check it at the door. Both of you are doing half-assed jobs around here."

Ryan stared hard at him, wanting to say something. But he thought better of it.

He took his coffee and headed toward the ballistics lab.

Keats Remington placed her findings in a file and scurried toward the door, glancing at her documents. She collided with Ryan, her papers flying every which way.

They kneeled down together, barely looking at each other. They picked up numerous papers, their hands touching several times.

It brought a slight blush to her cheeks.

"Here." He said, dumping the pile into her hands. He stormed off angrily, causing Keats to stare after him in confusion.

_Why the hell is he mad at me? Nix that…why the hell is he _still_ mad at me???_

"Ryan…wait." She called after him. He slowly turned and gave her one of his famous cocky stares.

"What?" He asked. He crossed his arms over his chest. Keats sighed.

"Can you stop giving me the cold shoulder?" She said, exasperated. Ryan rolled his eyes.

"What am I supposed to do, act like I'm your friend? Act like everything's okay between us? Because it isn't." Ryan snapped.

"…what should we do about it?" Keats wondered after a heated silence fell between them. Ryan shook his head.

"I'm not doing anything about it. This isn't my problem anymore." He said as he walked away. Keats was stunned speechless.

_He thinks I'm a problem…how long has he felt that way?_

Natalia stood behind her a little ways and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Don't pay any attention to him. It's early and he's grumpy." She said.

"How long do we have to do this shift again?" Keats groaned.

"Just for a month or at least until the graveyard crew finishes their evaluation."

"Fabulous." She sighed.

Keats entered the computer lab and gave Dan Cooper a warm hug. He had been a lifesaver on more than one occasion, and he'd offered to come in early so she could get an extra hour of sleep.

"Cooper, I don't know what I'd do without you." She murmured. Cooper clutched her to his chest and had a hard time letting go.

"Well, now that the friendly formalities are out of the way, how about lunch at that new Greek restaurant down the street?" Cooper asked.

"Sure. But first things first. Is there a trace on that handgun?"

Ryan Wolfe pilfered through his lunch half-heartedly in the break room. Natalia Boa Vista came in a few minutes behind him, pulling a salad out of the staff refrigerator.

"Interesting case, huh?" She asked, pouring salad dressing and sitting in the seat beside him.

"Not really. But it's not surprising. Calleigh is about two minutes away from a confession." He picked at his food, barely eating a bite.

"Ryan…I hate seeing you like this." She murmured. She finished her salad in silence, throwing her things away when she was finished.

Eric Delko passed her as she left, giving her a small but intimate kiss.

"Are we still on for tonight?" He asked. She nodded with a smile.

Eric turned and stood next to Ryan, leaning toward him.

"Listen up, Wolfe. I don't like this one bit. You still care about her and you're just letting her walk. Ditch your pride and talk to her, man." He said. Ryan gave a short laugh.

"It's not up to me, Delko." He said.

"You can still talk to her. Or better yet, make her talk to you."

"How can I make her talk to me?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"I'm pretty sure this is just a phase or something. Try going out with Erica. That'll really inspire some words." Eric told him.

"Go out with Erica? You've got to be kidding me."

"Do it for Keats."

Ryan heaved a sigh, rubbing his lips with fervor.

Cooper watched as Keats was savoring her pita bread, picking it apart and popping each tiny morsel in her mouth. It was intoxicating to witness. Everything Keats did, it seemed to be quite magnetic.

"Cooper, you haven't touched you souvlaki. Is something wrong?" Keats wondered. Cooper shook his head.

"Just thinking." He muttered. Keats smiled at him and he felt a certain tightness in his chest.

"…I was thinking…what you would say if I told you I was really interested in you…" Cooper said in a soft voice. His courage had perked up a bit and he hoped it would hold out long enough to see him through.

"Interested? Cooper, why would you be interested in me? I'm crazy." Keats said with a tiny laugh. Cooper didn't laugh.

Keats swallowed hard. She was never very good at moments like these.

"You're serious?" Keats asked in disbelief. She knew she wasn't the troll that lived under the bridge, but she still had doubts about her own attractiveness.

The fact that she had no idea how appealing she was simply added to her charm.

"I'm serious, Keats…I just want to know how you feel about me." Cooper set aside his plate and stared into her bright green eyes.

Keats felt horrible for being so unsure. She was still convinced that her heart belonged to Ryan, but Cooper had always been very kind to her.

"I don't know, Cooper-"

"Take as long as you need to think about it. I've waited this long, I think I can wait a little longer." Cooper said with an ironic smile.

Keats knew she wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of the week.


	2. Jealousy

"He said he liked you? Cool…" Sloane said, taking huge bites out of a Froot Loop cereal sandwich. She waddled around like a penguin, always poking around in the fridge for something to eat.

"Not cool. I hate it when things get complicated." Keats replied, scarfing down some chips and dip.

"Wake up, dearie. Life is complicated." Sloane mumbled hastily, making her way toward the chicken nuggets and honey mustard.

Sloane's current husband breezed through the kitchen, noticing that every single article of food was sitting in a pile on the kitchen table. He kissed Sloane and went into the living room to catch a baseball game on tv.

"I think he's ready for me to move out." Keats sighed. Sloane shook her head, tearing into a chocolate cupcake with pink frosting.

"Do you have any idea how badly you'll need a gym membership after little Fritzie is born?" Keats laughed.

"His name is Joseph…I will not having you calling my baby Fritzie." Sloane said in a mock angry voice. She began putting away all the food, pausing briefly to examine her rear end. She made a funny face.

"Well…yeah. But I figure I won't have to worry about that for another few weeks or so." Sloane declared.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've gained a little weight since I broke up with Ryan…I just feel so lost without him. Not only do I miss a wonderful companion and lover, but a great friend." Keats said, her eyes shining.

"Give that Cooper fella a try. He seems nice. At any rate, someone needs to make an honest woman out of you. You're the marrying kind of girl."

"Who said anything about getting married? It's just a simple date. Dates are very noncommittal." Keats blurted out in a panic. Even the thought of going out with someone else made her feel very apprehensive.

She may have botched things permanently with Ryan, but she was more than ready to pine for him.

"That look on your face just then…it was one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. Look, if you don't want to date anyone, then don't." Sloane told her. Keats stared off into oblivion, trying to suss things out for herself.

_She's right. I shouldn't feel obligated to date Cooper just because he's a nice man._

Horatio Caine heard his cell phone ring as he was leaving the site of the latest crime scene. Alexx stood behind him, shedding her latex gloves.

"What's the matter, Horatio?" She asked. He turned to her a second later, closing his cell gently.

"I want the phone call traced." He muttered, making his way back to the Lab.

"H, the call was made outside of a hardware store; Hammers and Nails. It wasn't a payphone, the number is unlisted." Cooper said as Horatio leaned over his shoulder.

"Hammers and Nails…" He murmured.

Within five minutes, he was driving to the hardware store along with Keats. The anonymous phone call was a cry for help from the voice of a woman that had been declared missing for over five months.

They were suddenly in a race to catch a kidnapper.

"I'm telling you, we have a private phone in our offices next door. Private…meaning nobody unauthorized can use it." Keith Roberts mumbled. Horatio nodded slightly and looked at Keats.

"Regardless, I'm going to need to take prints from that phone." He replied. Keith was silent for a bit.

"Unless you have something to hide." Keats added. Keith cleared his throat and shrugged.

Horatio and Keats took out their kits and worked meticulously for a few hours, gathering any traces of evidence they could find.

"Keith Roberts looked a little guilty back there. Is there any reason to suspect him?" Keats asked Horatio.

Horatio gave her a small smile, glancing at her warmly.

"I doubt it. For some reason, people seem to get very nervous around cops." He answered. Keats laughed softly.

All the prints went back to Eric Delko. Delko put them all through trace and Keats stood behind him, waiting rather impatiently.

"You know, a watched pot never boils, or whatever it is you WASPs say."

"Ha ha. Nobody complains when Calleigh waits, why should I be any different?" Keats asked incredulously. Delko grinned.

"She has several years seniority over you. You've got plenty of time to gain clout around here." He said as he pulled up a match.

"The freshest prints belong to a Jennifer Salt. She was declared missing 23 weeks ago and the ongoing search for her was put on hold last Friday. She was a cold case up until today." Eric browsed through her online file.

"Unfortunately, we're at a dead end. The only other prints on that phone were much older than hers. And Keith Roberts said there were no witnesses." Keats said.

"Not necessarily. But I can't help you, remember? The first year is crucial. You have to make your own mistakes and learn your own style, Remington." Eric said with a smile. Keats nodded, very annoyed and very unsurprised.

From the corner of her eye, Keats noticed Ryan laughing and talking to someone. His back was toward her, and thus, she didn't know who was talking to him.

"Uh, I should have told you earlier…Ryan's dating Erica now." Eric mumbled, his eyes still glued to the screen.

Keats laughed out loud and when she noticed Delko wasn't laughing with her, she stopped short.

"You're kidding me, right? He hates Erica. He might very well hate me, but he'd never go with her again." Keats said, drawing from a gut feeling.

She turned back to look at Ryan. He was touching Erica's face.

A sudden jolt of shock burst through her. She felt her nostrils flare with jealousy.

_Hold on, Rambo…you brought this on yourself. If she wants him, by God she can have the bastard!_

Keats broke into a run in the opposite direction and came to rest on the doorjamb of the computer lab. She panted and tried to catch her breath.

Dan Cooper swiveled around in his chair and cocked his head to one side.

"You guys are really intense about your stuff, aren't you?" He murmured.

Keats made long, brisk strides over toward him and stood with her face creeping closer to his.

"Cooper, how would you like to catch a game with me? The Braves-Marlins game at Dolphin Stadium. My brother-in-law's uncle works for the Marlins."

The light in Cooper's eyes could not be described. If he ever had doubts before about Keats being "the one," he didn't have them anymore.

"I'd love to."

Ryan sidled next to Delko after excusing himself from Erica. Flirting with her had been harder than he had imagined. But seeing the look on Keats' face was worth it.

"Did she buy it?" He muttered over his shoulder. Eric typed in a few things on the computer as Ryan slipped into his lab coat.

"Not at first. But you turned in a good performance with Erica. I didn't have to convince her at all." He replied. Ryan gave a pert nod.

"She's going to confront you about her any second now…" Eric said, glancing at his watch with a chuckle.

Their eyes traveled over to the door as they heard footsteps approaching.

But instead of Keats, they were suddenly face to face with Cooper.

"Cooper, what's going on?" Ryan wondered. He was awfully wary of him. And for good reason.

"I was wondering if one of you could switch shifts with me tonight. I'll make up it up tomorrow."

Eric and Ryan exchanged confused glances.

"You got some hot little number you're not telling us about?" Delko teased. Cooper laughed nervously.

"I think so." Cooper said.

"Good for you." Ryan grinned, patting him on the shoulder.

"It's about time you dated someone, Coop."

"You know what? I'll take your shift for you. No problem." Ryan added.

"Are you sure you want to make up the early morning shift _tomorrow_? What if you get lucky?" Delko asked, half-serious.

"Thanks, Wolfe. I'll be here tomorrow for your shift." Cooper said gratefully. He began to walk out the door.

At the last second, he plucked up his courage.

"Besides…Keats isn't that kind of girl." He said before ducking out as quickly as possible.

Ryan's face clouded over.


	3. Take Me Out

Keats fanned herself with her baseball cap. She was wearing a loose ponytail, jean shorts, and a white tank top. Cooper was fanning himself for an entirely different reason.

They were seated under the shade of the giant stadium, close enough to actually see the numbers on the players' uniforms. Cooper was having a hard time giving equal attention to his favorite girl and his favorite pastime.

"Great seats." He said, taking a swig from his giant root beer. He was a little bit nervous about drinking real beer in front of her. Plus, he was a 'touchy feely' drunk.

"Yeah. I knew my sister's husband was good for something." She joked. She settled herself further into her seat, munching away at some Cracker Jacks.

The coaches had already announced the starting lineup and Keats leaned over to find out who was playing what position.

"Go Sanchez!!!" She shouted, hopping to her feet. Anibal Sanchez hit his glove every once in while as he tossed a few back to Number 77, Henry Owens.

Cooper stared at her with surprise. Sure, she invited him to see a baseball game, but he didn't think she actually liked baseball.

He debated kissing her…if only just for being who she was anyway.

"This is great. He's my favorite pitcher…but they probably brought him in too soon." She murmured, leaning over the bars overlooking the VIP box.

The announcer made an official welcome and proceeded to list the starting lineup, playing all sorts of upbeat music intended to pump up the crowd.

"Who do you think's going to win?" Cooper wondered, taking a bite out of his chili cheese hotdog.

"The Marlins, of course. I never really liked 'em til I moved here. I was a Dodgers fan myself. But I've got to represent my home team now, right?" She said, squealing and cheering like crazy.

"Oh, really? I heard the Braves were favored to win." He said teasingly, almost as if he was trying to rile her up.

"Heh…maybe. I don't get too serious about sports because my dad used to be so dead serious about them. Baseball is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. You can't very well enjoy something if you think it's all about winning."

Cooper smiled at her, wondering how he'd ever tell her how strongly he felt about her. Like and love are two very different things. He had already made the transition long ago.

"Keats…has anyone told you how amazing you are?" He murmured. Keats stopped cheering and looked at him. She blinked a few times, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Well…I don't know. But at least one, I guess. If I count you." She smiled back at him.

Cooper stood beside her and began cheering himself, somehow bringing his arm around her waist in a very nonchalant manner.

If Keats was against the gesture, she didn't show it. She didn't flinch and she didn't push him away.

"Play the tape again." Eric said to Ryan. Ryan played back the recording of Jennifer Salt's cries for help that Horatio had heard the morning before.

Ryan was extremely angry for many reasons. One, he had taken over Cooper's shift which meant he had to deal with technical computer crap. Two, Erica had been calling him nonstop and was proving to be an annoying waste of time. And finally, Cooper was taking Keats out on a date.

The entire thing was incredibly unfair.

"Hey, earth to Ryan. Play it again." Eric shook him on the shoulder and Ryan played the tape again.

"Did you notice that?" Eric asked after numerous playbacks. Ryan shook his head.

"Slow it down and cue it to the last second." Eric murmured. Ryan did as he was told.

The voice of Jennifer Salt was becoming a far-off echo, suggesting she was hanging up the telephone. Suddenly, as clear as glass, they heard Jennifer giggle.

"Now why would she be laughing if her life is in danger?" Eric wondered. Ryan shrugged.

"Nervousness, anxiety…" Ryan suggested, forming a plausible list.

"That wasn't a nervous laugh. That's the kind of laugh you make when you're getting away with something."

Natalia knocked on the door to the computer lab and peeked in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I thought I'd let you guys know that we have a witness from the hardware store." She said.

Eric Delko leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. It was late, he was tired, and he hadn't spent time with Natalia in over a week.

"An old man…and a young Native American girl…is that right?" He asked. The witness, a middle-aged man in a dirty plaid shirt nodded vehemently.

"Yeah. I knew her dad once upon a time. He used to dress up in chaps and feathers and go hootin' and hollerin' down the street. Funny guy."

"That's very interesting, Mr. Jenner. Except that I asked you about the daughter, not the father."

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, I'm picking out some screws and stuff when I see her walk in behind this really old, scary-looking guy. Must have been in his sixties.

She was really grungy. Probably hadn't had a decent bath for weeks. She seemed comfortable enough with the old guy, but she kept her head down most of the time.

The old man…he looked really nerdy and creepy, by the way, got a few supplies and headed out pretty quickly." Jenner finished with a sigh.

"Can you remember what he bought?" Delko asked.

"…ehm…strips of wire…maybe a replacement head for a power drill…stuff like that." Jenner offered, trying to pinpoint what he'd seen.

"Thanks for your help, Mr. Jenner. If we need any more information, we'll contact you." Eric said, shaking his hand.

He left the interrogation room and handed Ryan a photocopy of the aforementioned interview, heading toward the locker room and then home. With any luck, Natalia would still be waiting for him there.

"Mr. Roberts, one of your customers mentioned having seen an older man with a young girl at your store…a girl that has been missing for almost half a year. You wouldn't deny having seen her unless you were hiding something, right?"

Ryan stood near the entrance of Hammers and Nails just as Keith Roberts was slipping the 'closed' sign around the entrance doors.

Roberts fiddled with his moustache and cleared his throat.

"She looked a little different…I was confused…" He mumbled.

"I'm sure you were. But now that you know exactly what we're looking for, why don't you enlighten me?" Ryan asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's the bottom of the ninth…the score is tied…" Keats said in a very posh, announcer-like voice. Cooper laughed and shifted in his seat, leaning across to put his arm around Keats' shoulder.

She looked down for a moment, wondering how she felt about Cooper's affections.

_In a way it's really nice…having someone so caring and nice lavishing so much attention on me. But at the same time, I feel like I'm being unfaithful._

The bases were loaded and the Braves had a two-point lead over the Marlins. With one hitter left, it seemed as though the Marlins would only gain one point and the Braves would walk away with the win.

"Cooper, listen…I-"

"Hold on, Keats. The guy's got one more out left."

Keats inhaled sharply and tried to muster up the nerve to tell Cooper that she wasn't over Ryan yet.

"I want to tell you something." She tried again.

Joe Borchard made swift contact with the ball, sending into orbit past the outfielders. The ball found his home in the glove of a twelve-year-old boy across the way.

"Home Run! It's a Grand Slam, everyone! The Marlins win!!!" the announcer yelled with excitement.

Cooper finally turned to Keats and grabbed her, feeling such perfect euphoria.

He pulled her up to his chest and kissed her long and hard. In such a way as to make her forget all about Ryan Wolfe.


	4. Faded Pride

"I'm so confused. Of course I like Cooper. But it's not the same. I could never feel…you know…the same way I did when I was with Ryan."

Sloane was brushing her teeth, rolling her eyes every once in awhile. Keats leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom, pinching Sloane every time she rolled her eyes.

"Cuzh you're shtill in love wit him." She mumbled, her mouth full of toothpaste. She rinsed and dried her mouth with a towel, facing Keats with an exasperated look on her face.

"I have a good mind to put you both in time out." She said, leaving the bathroom.

"Who? What do you mean?" Keats followed her sister into her bedroom.

Sloane sighed and sat on her bed, beckoning for Keats to sit down beside her.

"You and Ryan. You know you guys are meant for each other. I should plot something to get you back together. Otherwise, you'll be miserable. And then you'll make me miserable." Sloane said with a smile.

Sloane often his behind a façade of pure selfishness. She was truly a kind person, but she didn't want anyone else to know that.

"Oh? What are you going to do?" Keats wondered, giving her sister a kiss on the cheek as she headed to her own room.

"Oh, nothing." Sloane called after her in a mysterious way. Keats laughed and crawled under the covers.

Ryan Wolfe came in during his appointed shift. Cooper had promised to fill in for him, but he didn't want to leave Cooper alone with Keats any more than necessary.

He began scouring the database (with Cooper) looking for a man that fit the description of the supposed kidnapper. It was meticulous work.

"So…did you have fun?" He asked Cooper.

"Um…yeah." Cooper cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"What was the score?" He asked. The statement wasn't altogether innocent.

"The Marlins won 9 to 7. It was a good game. Grand slam." Cooper said. Ryan glared at him.

"I'm sure it was." He mumbled. Keats knocked on the door gingerly, feeling the tension in the air from down the hall.

"Hi, guys. I think the power's down in some places because I noticed the fridge wasn't working." She said as cheerfully as she could. It was damned hard, too.

"We were just talking about the game you went to last night. Sounds like you both had a great time." Ryan said. Keats paled. She hadn't known that he was aware of her plans.

"Yeah…" She gulped. She handed him the customer manifest of Hammers and Nails in order to help them narrow the search.

"Too bad I missed it, huh?" He added. Keats sighed and pulled the sleeve of his jacket, leading him outside the computer lab.

She leaned against the wall and folded her arms across her chest.

"Don't be such a jackass. If you want to say something, then say it. Don't cower around and try to be all passive aggressive." She said.

Ryan clenched his fists and slammed his hand against the wall not two inches away from her face. Keats turned white.

"I could say the same to you. Don't think I didn't see how you reacted when I was with Erica the other day. You were crazy jealous." He said with a malicious grin.

"Look who's talking! You were about to smack Cooper around for the same reason." Keats said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

Horatio Caine walked down the hallway and passed by two of his CSIs in a heated conflict. He wanted to remind them he wasn't a baby-sitter.

"I want you to locate this man for me. Cooper sent me a profile match of the suspect…I want him in here now." He gave them a few sheets of paper and continued walking down the hall calmly.

Keats and Ryan glanced at each other angrily. They walked to the elevator several feet apart from each other.

Once inside, they stood at opposites ends of the elevator, waiting patiently for the doors to open again.

Only…they didn't.

The elevator came to a sudden, screeching halt.

_What??? Stuck in an elevator with Wolfe? Aaaargh…Damn power outage. This might be a bad time to tell him I'm sort of claustrophobic._

Keats began breathing heavily, her eyes darting all over the place.

"Keats, what's wrong?" Ryan asked, suddenly very concerned.

Keats backed up against the wall and closed her eyes.

"I just get a little nervous in small, confined spaces. No biggie." She said softly.

Ryan nodded, looking slightly sympathetic.

Keats took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The lights began to flicker and then went out completely.

"Perfect." Keats muttered.

"Maintenance is probably fixing it right now, Remington. Relax."

"Since when have you started calling me Remington?" She asked.

"Since I lost you." He replied, not skipping a beat.

The elevator jolted, shaking as it slid down the cables in a rough manner. Keats unwittingly fell against Ryan, cringing as she knew he was probably less than thrilled to have her smashed up against him.

But incredibly, he had his arms around her to steady her, holding tighter each time the elevator shook.

In the dark, she felt her lips brush against his cheek. It was wonderful and caused her stomach to tighten with nervous butterflies.

He turned his head slightly and he managed to catch her lips, pulling her closer to him until they seemed melded into each other.

And then the kiss was over before it had really begun.

She felt along the side of the elevator in the dark, inching away from him. If she tried hard enough, she could barely manage to remember that she'd kissed him. Barely.

The lights came back on, blinking away. They revealed the fact that Keats had been blushing in the dark.

Slowly, the doors slid open and they walked past a crew of maintenance workers. They continued on as though nothing had happened.

Keats stood in front of the door, clutching her weapon at her side. The suspect, whose name was Fletcher Phillips, hadn't opened his door. Judging from the parked car, he was obviously at home.

"Keats, let me go first." Ryan said, pulling her behind him. She was somewhat touched, even though it probably meant nothing.

Ryan kicked the door down, entering the door slowly with several other cops behind him. They filed through the rest of the house, and Keats was left to bring up the rear. Something about her first raid made her a bit uneasy.

Keats stepped back, eventually stepping completely out of the house. She stood looking around, noticing a small sort of door way out in the suspect's trashy yard. Keats stepped over mountains and piles of garbage in order to get to the door in the ground.

She grabbed it, using her gun to release the chains that surrounded it.

When she opened the door, she was assaulted by a foul smell. The earth gave way under her and she fell into the door, coming to rest on her back looking up at the blue sky. A girl, presumably Jennifer Salt, was lying beside her glancing up at the same sky.

"I'm glad you're alive." Keats said. She brushed herself off and helped Jennifer to her feet. Jennifer smiled shyly, thanking her profusely for her newfound freedom.

Keats shook her head modestly, taking her out of the underground prison. When they were out in the sunlight, Jennifer squinted and smiled. It was a nice day, and one that was perfect to become reacquainted with the outside world.

"Do you love him?" Keats asked. Jennifer turned to look at her with mild surprise.

"I'm not going to press charges, if that's what you mean." She said. Keats gave a nod. She wondered how it was possible to be in love with someone that abused her and controlled her in such a sick way.

_But who am I to judge love? Love is love, right? That's what Patty used to say…_

Keats called an ambulance for Jennifer and notified the dispatch that the kidnap victim had been safely apprehended.

As Jennifer was being loaded into the ambulance, she latched onto Keats' arm suddenly.

"Please let Fletcher off the hook. He's not perfect, but who is? Anyway, I know he's not a great catch, but I love him anyway. I can't afford to be proud and lie about it…I love him. I do.

When you're in love, you can't see all the other person's faults properly. If that were true, I'd be forced to hate Fletcher. But I can't. So please…spare him."

With those words, the doors closed and Keats sighed to herself. Keats realized that Ryan had taken the remnants of her pride as well.


	5. You're It!

**Exams are finally over. Yay! Now I can devote some more time to this story. I figured I ought to make up for lost time by writing something a bit special. This is my first foray into physical romance, and I kept it at the Teen rating level, I think. I tried to make it sexy, sweet, and tasteful, but let me know how I did so I can alter it accordingly in the future. It's kinda short, so it's not a big deal, but I really like doing them, so I wonder if I can get away with writing more scenes like that…just a thought. :)**

"I know you probably don't want to hear this…especially from me. I mean, I look exactly like her and you must really be angry with her right about now…" Sloane began, holding her arms across her rather large stomach.

She had invited him over while Keats was on duty after hours. She was banking up her time in order to be with Sloane when the baby arrived. She was determined not to miss it for the world.

Sloane poured him some blueberry tea and sighed, sitting down across from him at the kitchen table.

"She's been holding a grudge against you for awhile now. She still loves you, but she's mad as hell at you. It's all about the whole Erica/Graduation thing. I never really knew much about it."

"Well, she never gave me a chance to explain. About anything. She assumed I never showed up at her graduation. She was wrong. And the Erica thing…I was under contract not to tell her until the program aired. The timing was off…by the time I could tell her about it, she'd already stopped talking to me."

Ryan stared into the dark, cloudy water of his cup, inhaling the light scent of warm blueberries. It was a mild comfort during a time of duress.

"I knew it. She thought she saw you, but she said she must have imagined it. And as for the Erica Sykes thing…she's just jealous. She's always been jealous of her. I mean she's pretty and successful…"

"And an overly ambitious, self-centered woman. She's no Keats, believe me. The two are as different as night and day." Ryan murmured, sipping his tea.

Keats had listened to the last little bit…and heard just enough to earn herself the wrong impression about the conversation.

_Ryan is telling my sister - my OWN SISTER - that he's so much happier with Erica. He's comparing her to me…telling her how much better she is for him than me…I feel sick to my stomach…_

Keats opened the door loudly and struggled against the urge to slam it. Even if Sloane was a traitor, her baby didn't need the extra stress.

"Keats? Is that you? Why don't you come into the kitchen and have a cup of tea with me?" Sloane asked. She winked at Ryan.

"I don't want to talk to either of you." She yelled as she went into her room.

Sloane sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes she acts like such a child…Don't worry, Ryan. She'll come around eventually." Sloane said softly.

Keats collapsed onto her bed and wanted to cry, but felt it wouldn't be right to be so upset about someone so mean.

_Too bad I'm not strong enough to let it slide._

Her tears fell silently. Over the years she'd grown quite accustomed to crying alone as quietly as possible. It was better than having to go through the effort of explaining why she was distressed.

A knock at the door caused her to dry her tears and crawl under the covers as though asleep. She turned out the lights just before the door opened.

A warm hand clamped over her mouth and Keats struggled against it.

"Just so you know, Erica and I weren't together last year. We're not together now. And another thing…I saw you get your diploma. It's not so easy to keep me away." Ryan said, running his fingers along her lips as he let go.

He stood up and began walking out the door, down the hall, and probably out of her life for good. Keats was shocked, and leapt out of bed to follow him.

She threw herself in front of the door and glared at him.

"That's it? No truce?" She asked. Ryan shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's not up to me. The breakup was your idea, remember?" He murmured, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But if you really want me, you're supposed to fight for me." Keats said in a wounded voice. _I don't know jack shit about love, I guess._

"…why do you think I'm here, Keats?" He finally said.

Keats wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He backed her against the door until she reluctantly pulled away.

"What was that stuff you were saying about me? Comparing me to what's-her-face?"

"I was complimenting you, dummy." He said, kissing her deeply and taking his sweet time.

Just when she thought she would run out of air, Ryan broke the kiss and touched her face lightly with his hands.

"Now that I've got _you_ back…it's your turn to get _me_." Ryan said with a wry grin. He pulled her away from the door and opened it. Keats pulled him back suddenly.

"Did you just…_tag_ me?" She asked incredulously. Ryan nodded.

"I proved myself to you…now you've got to do the same for me. It's only fair, Keats. You broke it off first." Ryan said, rushing out of the door and down the wooden staircase.

The warm night air felt good against his skin. The moon seemed to be brighter, clearer than it had in a long time. In fact, every sense seemed to be heightened.

He felt so incredibly alive…and it was all because he knew Keats still loved him. The pleasure of such knowledge had no limits. He was alive and in love, and it was wonderful.

True, the road ahead would inevitably be filled with problems, but the promise of her heart was enough to make him happy.

He felt excited and wondered how she would go about proving her love. She really didn't have to, but he knew she would. And it was her punishment for doubting him.

He unlocked his car, hearing cries of protest behind him.

"Ryan! Wait!" Keats came running and stopped right in front of him, red-cheeked and panting. She looked disheveled and frustrated…and curious.

"I don't want you to leave. I've missed you." Keats hovered close to his face, her lips closing in on him. Despite Ryan's resolve to make her pay, he couldn't be denied her kisses.

"Mmm…make love to me. Now." She whispered. Her bold words sounded more like a plea than anything else, and Ryan closed his arms around her waist protectively.

"Where?" He muttered against her silky-soft cheek.

"The hood of your car or that tree, it doesn't matter! I just…I want you." Keats breathed. Her desire was mildly innocent as she really had no idea what she was doing or how it was affecting Ryan.

Ryan had no objections to taking her in the front of Sloane's yard, but he was not about to make a cheap spectacle of her. She deserved better than the cold, hard ground.

"Let's go to my place." He answered.

The drive was anticipatory, and they were silent with longing.

They crashed against the door of his apartment fifteen minutes later, stumbling inside and barely making it to his couch.

He pulled back her shirt and kissed along her creamy white shoulder. Her fingers curled deep in his hair and she closed her eyes. Her dreams of late were now truly happening. It was bliss.

He undressed her slowly, teasing her, and ultimately driving himself mad. He held off until Keats was trembling from fear and intense need. He instantly felt foolish for playing games.

He placed her hand on his face, kissing her wrist lovingly.

"I know this doesn't solve everything, but-"

Ryan nodded, smiling down at her. He placed his hand on her hip and she buried her face in his shoulder.

He was so wonderful and familiar, yet so different. Whatever had changed was infinitely better. Perhaps the absence _had_ made his heart grow fonder…

She let out a gasp, beads of sweat breaking out across her forehead. Ryan collapsed on top of her, resting his lips on the nape of her neck.

"I'm sorry." Keats said, looking into his eyes with great sincerity.

"Me too." He replied, stroking her damp cheek.

"I love you." He said. She repeated the words, falling asleep beneath him with a peaceful smile on her lips.


	6. Three's Company

Whatever spell had fallen on them the night before, it had inexplicably faded. During the night, Ryan had placed her on his bed and spent the rest of the night trying to sort out his own feelings. When he finally did go to bed beside Keats, she awoke shortly thereafter and left his apartment.

The sex had been wonderful, Keats knew. But they were foolish to have jumped into bed, or couch, before they had solved most everything. There were still so many unanswered questions.

She took a run in the Miami dawn, her bare feet kissing the damp sand. It was a relaxing sensation, and one that made her able to think clearly.

_So he _did_ see me graduate…and he _wasn't_ with Erica…is that enough for me to forgive him??? You bet!_

Keats went home and immediately changed to get ready for work. She couldn't wait to see Ryan and tell him that she wanted to be with him and love him like she used to.

Ryan Wolfe rotated in his chair nervously. He'd been quite…hasty the night before. He sort of pounced on her before he realized it. He had just felt so…primal the night before. And the sex was amazing. Made better by the fact that Keats wasn't ready to give up on him.

He pulled a few files out and tried to concentrate on them, but he was suddenly aware of Keats standing quite close to him.

"Why'd you leave? I was going to make you breakfast in bed." Ryan mumbled, teasing her. He waited a bit to see if it worked.

"Yeah, right." Keats grinned. She shoved his shoulder and handed him an additional file.

"Does this mean you'll marry me now?" Ryan asked suddenly. He pulled her to him and looked deep into her eyes. Keats sighed and looked unsure.

"Don't ask that yet. It's too soon." She replied, pulling away from him. They made up only hours before, and to Keats, that was WAY too soon to think about getting married.

She certainly wanted to, but…she was holding out for something. Something she wasn't ever going to explain to Ryan, but something she desperately needed.

After a few failed relationships and a hoax of a marriage, she decided she wasn't going to settle for anything but the best. She hoped that Ryan would be the best, but she wasn't sure.

She wanted moonlight and roses…and Ryan hadn't given her many of those. He seemed to take her for granted. He was a wonderful friend and lover…but she wanted a prince. A knight on a white horse.

_Am I expecting too much? Am I a fool for thinking such a thing exists? Will I be disappointed if I hold out for my fairy tale ending?_

The worst part was…Ryan never really seemed to try much. Not that Keats minded…but she looked at Natalia and Eric. Eric was a charming and romantic man. Natalia was constantly being swept off her feet by him.

_I guess I'm wrong for comparing them…And then there's that kiss…_

Cooper had really surprised her. He was incredibly kind and sensitive…funny, cute without even knowing he was adorable…and somehow, when it came to that kiss…it was powerful. Keats was blown away by his passion.

She touched her lips and wondered how she would be able to tell which guy was the knight and which one was simply the jester.

"What are you thinking about?" Ryan asked her. It was obvious her imagination was working overtime.

"Nothing. But don't ask me that until you mean it, Wolfe." Keats said as she left him alone with his thoughts.

He smiled to himself, as it was becoming clear that she was still growing up in some ways.

Keats walked down the hallway and crossed paths with Cooper, someone she hadn't wanted to deal with yet.

"I had fun the other night at the game. If you want to go again, I heard the Marlins are playing Detroit. I have some tickets." Cooper leaned against the wall and smiled pleasantly. Keats swallowed hard and gave him a nervous smile.

"Sure." She blurted out. She felt an arm drape possessively around her shoulder and looked up into Ryan's eyes. Ryan turned his gaze to Cooper and held it for awhile. Cooper appeared to be flustered and angry.

"I think she'll be busy that night." Ryan said with a satisfied smirk. Keats began to flush with embarrassment. She removed his arm suddenly and gave him a harsh glare. She glanced at Cooper apologetically and excused herself from their company.

_When we went out…I would have been so flattered that he put his arm over me…marking his territory. But now it seems petty and childish. Have I really changed that much? If so…what does that mean for our relationship?_

Keats sighed to herself as she finished off an ice cream cone near the corner of M.D.P.D. She realized grimly that she hadn't had much ice cream lately, so she was more than willing to try to make up for it. She ordered another cone and sat down on a wooden bench overlooking the pale sand of the beach.

She stared out at all the people, watching them laugh and eat and play. She liked observing people. She found it to be useful practice for the art of reading people. Her ice cream began to dribble down her chin and she wiped it away with her napkin.

A gentle, masculine laugh graced her ears and she warily turned, her breath caught in her lungs.

"You're…here?" Keats barely piped out.

"Yeah…I was debating whether or not to go in and see you, but before I made up my mind, I found you sitting here. Imagine my surprise." He said with a charming smile.

"How did you know?" Keats wondered, abandoning her butter pecan ice cream.

"I asked around. I wanted to tie a few loose ends. Anyway, I'd like to see you for dinner if that's okay." He added.

Keats sat across from him at a well-lit table in a swanky restaurant. Keats knew she shouldn't have agreed to meet him, but her curiosity made it impossible for her to say no.

"So what do you want to talk to me about? What loose ends need to be tied?" Keats wondered, tearing into a steak.

"You see…I'm getting married." He said, leaning forward slightly.

Keats inhaled sharply and blinked, wondering what to say…what to feel. She nearly choked on her meat, so she set down her silverware and took several giant gulps of water.

"Oh…that's great…when is -"

"I _was_ getting married. But I just can't do it."

"Why? Surely you've grown up by now?" Keats said with a laugh. Morgan Flannery did not laugh.

"I can't get you out of my head. You were my first love…I thought maybe if we had married when we wanted to, so young and all, that I would have been tied down too early. So I broke up with you instead of asking you to wait for me.

It was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I wanted to call you last year, but Sloane told me you had a husband. I felt so…awful. I wanted you back. I thought I'd messed things up for good…But when I heard that the marriage wasn't real, I made up my mind to come down here and get you back."

Keats tried to avoid his gaze, afraid she would get taken in when she so desperately wanted to leave him be.

"I know I don't deserve you anymore. I know you probably still hate me. I just want to say…I'm sorry for how I treated you. And, if I can, I'd like to make it up to you and prove that I'm the man you should spend the rest of your life with."

Keats had always wanted someone to say those words to her. When she was younger, she would have swooned because Morgan was the one saying them.

_Ryan would never say anything like that…I can't help but feel disappointed._

"Listen, you don't have to date me or anything. Just spend time with me."

_Just spend time with me…_

"Come on, Morgan. This is all so sudden. First you coming here, then that revelation. I can't exactly digest it in one day." Keats said, trying to keep her head from exploding.

_Men…I can't figure them out. The second you leave them for good, they come back wanting more. But if you show them love, they back away slowly._

_I think I'll quit men until they come to their senses._


	7. Avoiding the Issue

"This is what I hate most about this job. Finding all the spare parts." Detective Tripp mumbled. He was scouring the lake front for missing appendages from their newest victim.

Keats hid a small smile as she watched Tripp duck under branches grumpily and wade through the lake with his knee-high rubber boots.

Keats snapped a few more shots of the body, a young woman that someone was obviously trying to hide.

"Cause of death?" Keats wondered. Alexx shrugged.

"I'm not sure. But it definitely looks like she was the victim of a sexual assault. I can confirm that at the lab." Alexx murmured, stroking the girl's forehead.

Keats sighed and shook her head. She was exhausted. She gently slapped her face a few times and tried to focus on her photos.

"June? Is something wrong, honey?" Alexx glanced over at her worriedly. Keats smiled and shook her head.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired. I haven't been able to sleep for awhile." Keats said. She had told Morgan to leave her alone for the time being, and she had avoided both Ryan and Cooper semi-successfully. She knew she had to take the time to think about her relationships, and each night, without fail, she had stayed awake to figure them out.

And after nearly two weeks of thinking, she still hadn't come up with a suitable answer. She was almost ready to give up and live a life of chastity. _Oh, how crappy would that be??? But then again, what choice do I have?_

Alexx kept her gaze on Keats, but Keats laughed and told her not to worry. Alexx knew very well that she should and, in fact, _would_ worry.

She would have to keep an eye on her.

Keats flipped through the photos she took at the crime scene and yawned. Eric Delko popped in and stood behind her, smiling his usual bright smile.

"So how was it?" He asked, looking at her pictures. Keats scrunched up her nose.

"Bad. The ones that involve water are always really bad." She said.

"Yeah. I know what you mean. The smell can be quite overpowering." He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"It turned my stomach. I feel kind of nauseated, actually. I thought it would go away, but…" Keats returned to her work.

Natalia joined them in the next instant, bringing two cups of coffee with her. She handed one to Delko, and set the other one on the table beside Keats.

"I heard you were tired, K.J. How about a little pick-me-up?" She asked. Keats nodded gratefully.

"Thanks." She put the cup to her lips and inhaled deeply. Her stomach did a flip-flop and she set the cup down immediately.

"What's wrong? Is it too hot?" Natalia wondered. Keats nodded slowly. Eric gave her an odd look but said nothing.

"Well, be sure to get some rest for a change, okay?" Natalia added before leaving.

Eric sat beside her and they re-examined the photos thoroughly. After a few minutes, Eric nudged the coffee closer to Keats.

"I think it's cooled off by now." He said, watching her closely. Keats nodded and tried to drink again. She swallowed painfully and set the cup aside, returning to what she had been doing before.

"You hate coffee now?" He asked her. Keats shrugged.

In the next instant, Keats rushed out of the room and ran down the hall. Eric noted with amusement and anxiety that she had run into the bathroom.

Keats rinsed her mouth out with cold water. She splashed a bit of it on her face and wiped herself dry with a paper towel.

She had no idea why the crime scene from earlier had upset her so much. But she knew that sometimes the body reacted to strange smells. Her vomiting indicated that she should be more careful around watery crime scenes.

Eric was waiting for her when she got back.

"Take the rest of the day off, Keats. Find out what's making you sick and tired."

_Find out what's making me sick and tired? What is that supposed to mean? Anyway, I'm thankful for the time off._

Keats sipped her homemade chicken noodle soup and read the paper. It was nice and relaxing, especially since she had made her mind that she would not worry about her love life.

Sloane was in the bedroom taking a nap. Her days consisted mainly of sleeping and eating, so Keats had barely seen her recently.

Just as she was nodding off to sleep herself, she heard a scream.

"Sloane? Are you all right?" She called, running into her sister's bedroom. Sloane rolled her eyes and within the next half hour, they were at the hospital.

"I'm sorry I scared you. But, ouch. I hope childbirth isn't too painful." Sloane said to Keats. Keats leaned against the window and suppressed a laugh.

"I don't know…I'd go ahead and ask for anesthesia now." She replied. Keats felt her stomach rumbling and wished she could have eaten more before she fell asleep at the table.

"They told me it would take awhile. You should go home and rest. I'll call you when things pick up." Sloane suggested, noticing the dark circles under her sister's eyes.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going anywhere." Keats said. She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Go. You need a nap so you can be of some use to me later. My husband's going to be pretty lame at this, I can tell already." Sloane said. Keats sighed.

"Fine. I'll leave when he gets here." She compromised. She sat down in one of the chairs next to Sloane's hospital bed and waited.

"Why don't you run down to the cafeteria and get some food? Your stomach is really loud." Sloane remarked, flipping through channels on the tv.

Keats did as Sloane suggested. She bought a turkey sandwich and some ginger ale, settling down to eat near a window.

She carefully opened the sandwich and began taking big bites. But after a few minutes, it became clear that she had made the wrong choice in food.

She broke into a run and charged into the ladies' room, heaving up whatever was left in her stomach.

When she returned to Sloane's room, she was more tired than ever, and especially more hungry. But she wasn't about to try to eat again.

"Are you okay?" Sloane wondered. She muted the television set.

"I'm fine. My stomach hasn't been doing so well, though. Ever since this morning's crime scene, I've been throwing up. Every time I try to eat, too." Keats said, sitting at the foot of her bed.

"You don't think…" Sloane began.

"What? Tell me." Keats wondered. Sloane examined her closely.

"Do you think you're pregnant, maybe?" She asked. Keats eyes widened.

"What?" She shrieked. Sloane thought a bit more, then grinned at her sister and laughed.

"Oh, who am I kidding? It's been months since you've had sex. How could you possibly be pregnant…" Sloane laughed. Keats laughed along and shrugged.

_She really doesn't know about that night with Ryan, I take it._

"Maybe it's the flu. Or maybe you should take it easy on the field work. It's obviously upsetting you." Sloane said. Keats inhaled sharply.

_Pregnant? I have an incredible sensation of déjà vu. Last year I was so worried that Ryan and I had gotten pregnant. But of course, that was nonsense. Sweet, adorable, stressful nonsense._

_I couldn't be pregnant. It's too unbelievable. And inconvenient, I might add._

Keats felt her stomach lurch and groaned. She went into Sloane's private bathroom and wretched.

"You should have a doctor give you medicine for that." Sloane called from the main room.

Keats knew she was too afraid to go to the doctor. She was scared to death of what he might say. If she truly was pregnant, then she would have to tell Ryan, for better or worse.

_He's probably angry with me for avoiding him. What if he denied that he's the father? Oooh, I'd kill him!!!_

Keats balled up her fists angrily at the thought.

_But…just maybe…if I ignore it…the problem will go away…_

Keats spent the next hour heaving in the toilet and realized she couldn't possibly ignore the problem.

When her stomach had calmed down a bit, she went to find Sloane's doctor.

_I have to find out for sure…_


	8. A Brand New Nephew

Keats sat across from Sloane's doctor. He was a middle-aged, happily married man with five children. Sloane knew he was the best because of his pleasant outlook on life and the fact that he had so much experience under his belt.

Keats began wringing her hands nervously.

"Before I go over the results of the test, I'd like to ask you a few questions." He smiled warmly. Keats suddenly remembered to breathe.

"Sure." She mustered up a small smile.

"You told me about your vomiting and fatigue. Were those your only symptoms?" He asked, looking down at her results.

"Yeah. I think so." She mumbled. Dr. Gerard laughed.

"Don't worry. It's not what you think. Your symptoms indicate a sign of extreme stress. Are you worrying about something that could be causing your body to react this way?" He stared at her.

"Yes. Actually I've been under a lot of stress. Whew, thank God." Keats gave a relieved sigh. She began to laugh for thinking herself so foolish as to believe that she was pregnant.

"It's a little too early for you to be experiencing morning sickness." He continued. Keats gradually stopped laughing and glanced at him.

"Huh?" She asked in disbelief. Dr. Gerard smiled.

"Morning sickness usually begins at 3-5 weeks." He added. Keats could feel her heart racing wildly.

"What are you telling me?" She managed to say. Dr. Gerard put a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Congratulations. You're pregnant."

_"Congratulations. You're pregnant."_

Keats leaned against the wall to Sloane's room and wondered what in the hell she was supposed to do.

She had asked Dr. Gerard not to tell her sister yet, and he agreed heartily.

_I won't tell Sloane. At least not today. And…I'd like to wait awhile before telling anyone, really. But I think Eric and Alexx already suspect something…Oh, why did this have to happen now? Just when I was enjoying my freedom from men…_

Keats fluffed Sloane's pillow and sat down beside her, deep in thought.

"What did Dr. Gerard say?" Sloane wondered. Keats broke out of her thoughts and gazed at Sloane.

"Uh, nothing much. He said that I was hurling because of stress and that I should take a few days off and relax." She murmured.

Keats felt her cell phone vibrate and she took it out wearily.

"Hello?" She said.

"Keats, we have the suspect down here. We need you to go apprehend his wife." Delko told her.

"But I'm at the hospital - "

"Go. It'll relax you better than I will." Sloane whispered to her.

"Eric? I can go. Can someone pick me up?" Keats asked.

Keats saw the familiar gray hummer of M.D.P.D. and approached it happily. She felt better already knowing that her work could take her mind off a few things. Namely her newly-conceived child.

_That's right…I'm having a baby. I'm going to be a mother soon. Just like Sloane._

She opened the door and was face to face with CSI Ryan Wolfe.

"But…uh…" She sputtered.

"Just get in." He snapped. She did as she was told.

They drove in silence for awhile and Keats had never felt more confused and awful and nervous and sick in her whole life. She was caught between three men and the fact that she was having a baby.

_Haha! 3 men and a baby. I love that movie._

Keats laughed but soon caught herself when she noticed Ryan staring at her.

"It'll take us twenty minutes to get to the suspect's house. Until we get there…let's talk." He said. Keats nodded nervously.

"I really don't get you. After that great night we had together, you started ignoring me. Why?"

"Because…Morgan came back. And I was really confused. I still am. Especially now." She mumbled.

"Morgan? Your ex-boyfriend, Morgan? That Morgan?" Ryan asked. Keats nodded, turning away to look out the window.

"You're not still in love with him, are you?" He asked. Keats shook her head vehemently.

"Then what's the matter? Is it Cooper?" Ryan asked. His voice seemed rather sad and angry at the same time.

"Of course not. I love _you_, you jerk. But I don't know if…I should be with you." Keats said slowly. Ryan sighed.

"Whatever it is, we can fix it." He said. Keats glanced at him and sighed.

"Maybe. Maybe not. We're both still really young and unsure…I don't know if we're ready to get married. And besides, you're not ready to be a great husband. We both have no idea what it takes to make a marriage work, and I don't want our…um…anyone to be upset by us divorcing."

"We don't have to divorce. Why would we get a divorce?" Ryan asked. He pulled up to a giant mansion and put the hummer into park.

"Tell me later." They got out of the car and went to the front doors. Ryan stood ready with his gun and made sure Keats was behind him.

_I shouldn't be doing this. I can't risk someone else's life when I'm responsible for them._

Keats held her hand over her stomach protectively.

"Mrs. Hanover, this is M.D.P.D. Open up!" Ryan yelled. There was no answer.

"Why do we have to bring her in? She's just a suspect." Keats murmured.

"Her husband confessed to the murder. She's an accomplice." Ryan said, getting ready to break down the door.

The backup policemen had just arrived, and one of them handed a gun and belt to Keats. Keats took them nervously.

Ryan broke down the door and the cops began infiltrating the mansion. Ryan began to trek up the stairway slowly, Keats right behind him.

They entered a large room with several chairs and a big screen in the center. Almost like a home theater, Keats thought.

"We've got her." They heard the crackle over Ryan's handheld listening device. They then turned their attentions to the tapes found near the screen.

In the back of Ryan's hummer, they accessed all the videos they had recovered from the scene. The videos were, to say the least, disturbing.

The frightening and grotesque images of husband and wife raping, then murdering several young women were shown. Keats felt her stomach tighten again and she ran behind the bushes to vomit, having hardly anything left with which to puke.

Ryan kneeled beside her, pushing her hair back. She looked over at him worriedly. He handed her a bottle of water and she used it to rinse her mouth.

"Are you sick? If I had known, I wouldn't have asked you to come." He said.

_I'm not sick, I'm pregnant._

She imagined the look on his face when she told him. He would be shocked, no doubt. He would probably ask her to marry him. But would he be happy about it?

"I'm fine. The doctor told me I was under too much stress." She said, standing up.

"If you were under so much stress, then why did you - "

"Because I don't know how much longer I can do my job." She blurted out. Ryan furrowed his eyebrows, evidently puzzled.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Keats shook her head.

"Nothing. Can you take me back to the hospital? Sloane…"

Ryan nodded and they drove toward the hospital. The ride was quiet. Neither of them said anything the whole way, and it seemed to Keats that he was holding off on asking her questions because it might contribute to her stress.

She gazed at him fondly, realizing he was very much her Prince Charming.

_Too bad I'm pregnant. I managed to sort out one mess, but now I'm knee deep in another._

"Ryan…I want to be with you." She said suddenly, holding onto his arm. Ryan pulled into a parking spot near the hospital and turned to face her.

"Do you…really mean that?" He asked.

"Yeah. I love you very much. I always have. I never meant to hurt you. I was…frightened. And I didn't know enough then to realize that it's okay to be scared sometimes. But if I am scared, I want you to be there with me and see me through it." Keats said.

She rested her head on his shoulder as a few stray tears fell down her face. He eventually wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, comforting her.

"I love you, Keats. I won't ask you to marry me until you're ready. Just let me know when, all right?" He murmured into her hair.

Keats and Ryan walked down the hallway of the fifth floor and knocked on the door to Sloane's room.

"It's about time you got here." Sloane mumbled, flipping through a magazine. She looked up and smiled when she saw Ryan standing next to Keats.

"It's about time you two made up, as well," She beamed at them, " Now all you need to do is get married and start having kids. I'm pretty sure little Braden is going to want a cousin soon."

Ryan gave a nervous smile and Keats felt her chest constricting. She glanced around the room and saw blurry edges. She turned to go to the bathroom and suddenly blacked out.


	9. Say It Right

Ryan reached out and grabbed her before she fell. He looked up at Sloane in wonder.

"She's had a rough day." Sloane said.

Keats felt a cold compress on her head and she opened her eyes. She was on a couch in the waiting room and Ryan was kneeling at her side. He was leaning on his fist, apparently asleep.

Keats felt her stomach flutter as she looked at him. He was so sweet, after all. She knew she had to tell him about the baby. Their baby.

Sloane's husband burst through the door at that exact moment, a proud look on his face.

"I have a son! I have a little boy!" He exclaimed.

Fifteen minutes later, Keats and Ryan were staring into the glass and looking at all the newborn babies. Keats felt mildly happy, knowing that within a short time, she herself would be taking home a little newborn.

"They're so beautiful." She murmured. Ryan put his arm around her and she leaned against him.

"I don't know how to say this, but…" She began. She stopped herself. She was too nervous.

_What if he walks away? What if he's psyched? What if he blames me for not using anything? What if decides we can't be together anymore?_

"What?" He asked, squeezing her arm reassuringly.

"Oh…nothing." She said.

_I blew it…I'm such a chicken…I really missed my chance. Another perfect moment to tell the man you love that you're having his baby will not come by again, Keats._

The very next day, Ryan Wolfe helped Keats move her things back into his apartment. They made a compromise with each other, holding off on marriage as long as she agreed to stay with him.

It also helped that Sloane needed the extra bedroom for the baby.

_I really shouldn't be lifting this stuff. Hehe…if Ryan knew, he'd do it all himself, probably. But I don't want him to have to do it alone._

After the last box was brought in and put away, Keats and Ryan collapsed onto the couch and panted for air.

"Hey, Ryan…" Keats started, thinking it would be easier to tell Ryan if he was already breathless.

"Remember what Sloane said about starting a family?" She began, gauging his reaction.

"Vaguely. Why?" One of his eyebrows shot up mischievously.

"I just wondered what you thought about us starting a family." She said, leaning her head against the wall, facing him.

Ryan took a deep breath and his eyes became strangely large and odd.

"I think that would be great…someday. But for now, I don't think it would be a good idea. You were right when you said we were unsure. We're definitely not ready for a baby right now." Ryan said, kissing her warmly.

Keats' heart sank as she wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her close to him and she wished she knew what to do.

_Well…I suppose I have to resolve the situation with Morgan and Cooper. _

She called Morgan up and invited him to lunch. Her treat since she was dumping him.

She waited outside the restaurant and smiled sadly when she saw him approaching.

"Look, I know what you're going to say." He began after they had gotten their drinks. Keats gazed at him blankly.

"You're going to tell me that you're still involved with that Ryan guy. I heard about him. But rest assured that I don't plan to give up on you yet. I had planned to meet with much resistance anyway." Morgan ordered his food with optimism.

Keats bit her lip and ordered nothing.

At the Crime Lab, Keats was still rather weak, but she hid it well by doing nothing but paperwork. Alexx entered the room quietly, knocking on the door to get her attention.

"June, baby, I want to talk to you." She said. Keats nodded and pushed her work aside. Alexx Woods sat down in the chair next to her.

"You know you can trust me, don't you?" She asked, patting Keats' knee in a very maternal way. Keats nodded.

"Then I want you to level with me…After I saw your behavior yesterday, I asked around the lab to see if anyone else had noticed it too. Delko told me about the vomiting."

Keats waited in silence…waited for Alexx to say it out loud. If she said it out loud, then it had to be true.

"What's the matter? I want to know if there's anything I can do, baby. You have to let me know, though." She said.

_I want to tell her. I want to tell her so badly. I want to tell someone! I don't want to be the only one dealing with this…but I have to. It's for the best._

"I'm fine. The doctor said…" She trailed off, tears burning her eyes.

"He said I'm fine. I was just under too much stress. But I'm fine now." Keats wiped away a tear and put on a brave smile for Alexx.

Alexx pursed her lips and sighed.

"Tell me the truth, June. What is _really_ going on?" She asked.

Keats felt her tears rising, could feel them begin to overflow. She broke down and cried, leaning against her shoulder.

Alexx rubbed her back consolingly and whispered calming words into her ear.

"What's wrong, baby?" She murmured. Keats composed herself enough to face Alexx.

"I'm pregnant…and I'm so scared, I don't know what to do." She sobbed, her head back on Alexx' shoulder.

"How long have you known?" She asked sympathetically. Keats could not say anything clearly for quite awhile, but Alexx remained where she was. She continued to comfort her as best she could.

It was saddening for Alexx. Truly it was. Keats was still very much like a child in many ways, and here she was…pregnant with her own child.

"When are you going to tell Ryan?" She asked calmly. Keats shook her head and said nothing.

"Do you trust him?" She asked. Keats nodded.

"If you trust him, then you need to find the courage to say something. Otherwise you'll be wallowing in agony. _Alone_. Is that what you want?" Alexx asked, her sweet voice turning edgier. She was determined to help Keats gain her bearings.

"No. But he told me yesterday…he doesn't want kids right now. I'd disappoint him if I told him the truth." Keats said, her tears nearly dry.

"What about what _you_ want? Obviously you didn't count on this happening either, so why does _he_ get to escape from his responsibilities?" She told Keats.

"Look, the sooner you tell him, the better it will be. It's like ripping off a band-aid. You just have to get it over with and things will be okay afterward?"

_Just get it over with, Keats. Bite the bullet. You can do it._

Keats waited outside the ballistics lab as he examined a few shell casings with Calleigh. Last night's hit and run victim had apparently been shot beforehand.

"Ryan? Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked. She nearly lost her nerve, but she bit her lip and took a deep breath. Ryan nodded and left the lab, walking into the hallway with her.

"What's the matter?" He asked. His arms were folded neatly across his chest and Keats' confidence level dropped. She pursed her lips and tried again.

"I…have something…I need to say." She began, her voice quivering. She bit her lip again, biting harder as though it would help her.

"Say it quick, I have to get back in there." He gestured toward the ballistics lab and she nodded.

"…uh, never mind. It can wait." Keats said finally. She heaved a sigh of relief and turned to walk away. She couldn't understand why it was so hard to tell him. Ryan was a difficult man to read on most accounts.

Sure, he was predictable in certain arenas, but Keats had no way of knowing how he'd react to something as monumental as a baby.

_Hold on a second…how do I feel about the baby?_

Keats decided to take a long walk on the beach later that day. She felt the wind flow through her loose shirt and her hair, almost coaxingly.

_Even if I don't exactly want the baby…I'm sure I will eventually. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I had an…abortion. The baby deserves better than that. Even if I still don't want the baby after it's born, maybe I can give it up for adoption, and make sure he or she will live in a good home._

_The only question now is whether I should start planning to give the baby up…I can barely take care of myself and yet I have responsibilities over another person…What if I fail as a mother? I don't think I could handle that._

_I feel guilty for thinking the baby was a mistake. The baby is definitely a gift…someone created out of the love that Ryan and I feel for each other. But perhaps this is one gift that I was never really meant to have._

Keats placed a hand on her stomach and tried to feel what the baby was feeling. Maybe the baby would tell her what he wanted.

"Why are you home so late?" Ryan asked her from his computer desk. Keats filed in slowly, exhausted emotionally, mentally, and physically.

She hadn't eaten much in the last few days, and it was really taking its toll on her.

"Sorry…I had some thinking to do." She said quietly. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, nuzzling against his back.

Keats heard her cell phone ring and she groaned to herself.

"Remington, here." She said. She stood up and went to look out the window.

"Kit? Oh, my God, I need you. I can't do this."

"Sloane…calm down. What's wrong?" Keats asked.

"Roger is working late all this week and there's no one to help me and I don't know what I'm doing. I can't take care of him." Sloane said in a panic.

"Relax, Sloane. I'll be right there." Keats said, hanging up. She grabbed a few things in a backpack and hugged Ryan, giving him a peck on the cheek,

"I'm staying over at Sloane's. She sounds desperate." Keats mumbled, waving goodbye.

Sloane was at her wit's end holding onto a screaming infant. Sloane was in tears herself, and it struck Keats in an awful way.

Sloane was usually so composed and Keats was the one with all the issues.

"Warm a bottle up for me." Keats instructed. She took little Braden from her sister's shaky arms and held him against her chest.

It felt so natural. It felt right.

Gradually Braden stopped crying and Keats was able to feed him, making sure to send Sloane off to bed.

She rocked him gently in the chair in the darkness of his nursery. It was a feeling that Keats could not express with words, but she knew she wanted to feel it again.

From inside her she felt a certain steadiness and ease that she hadn't felt before. A sort of confidence.

As she rocked Braden in her arms, she dialed Ryan's cell number.


	10. Many Misunderstandings

**I deeply apologize if I've left you guys hanging. I'm actually in the process of revising a manuscript and finding a literary agent, which I'm pretty nervous about. But in the end it's the readers that give me the courage to pursue my interests. As a way of thanking those who have been loyal followers of Red Wolfe, I will try my best to update every so often and not let a whole summer slip by again without even a single new chapter.**

As she rocked Braden in her arms, she dialed Ryan's cell number.

"Ryan Wolfe." He said. She could hear the clacking of the keyboard in the background.

"It's me." She said softly. Ryan smiled and stopped typing.

"Miss me already?" He asked. She laughed gently.

"You _are_ sitting down, right?" She added.

"Sure. Why?" He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"I went to the doctor the other day because I was throwing up, remember?" Keats began.

"Yeah. Didn't he say it was because of stress?' He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"It was stress. But he found something else, too." She said calmly.

"What is it?" He wondered, a little confused.

"Nothing bad. But I wanted to tell you before you hear it from anyone else."

"What?" He asked, growing impatient.

"Well, the both of us may not be ready, but it seems our family's already been started." She said. She let her words sink in a bit.

"What exactly does that mean?" Ryan asked. Keats laughed again. Then she became serious. She took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant…" She said. Finally! _Whew…I did it. I actually did it._

_Please don't let me down, Ryan._

Keats could hear the silence and it seemed to crush her. The ball was in his court now…and he was letting it go.

She turned off her phone and closed it, setting it to the side. Whatever he had to say right then, she knew it was probably best that she didn't hear it. He hadn't had time to think it over yet.

She cuddled Braden close to her and she rocked them both to sleep.

Ryan furiously dialed her number again, but he was immediately connected to her voice mail. He closed his phone and slammed it onto the floor.

He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. He was absolutely floored.

Eric Delko settled down on his couch and snapped open a bottle of cold beer. He switched on the television and sighed, stretching out his legs.

His relationship with Natalia had hit a plateau, and he wasn't quite sure how to get out of it. Although he knew if he were to discuss it with Natalia, she would suggest living together, marriage…Heaven knows what else.

A sudden knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and he sighed again. He went to the front door of his condo, opening it with mild trepidation.

"I didn't know you made social calls, Wolfe. What's on your mind?" He pretended to be annoyed, but he was actually relieved to have him drop by. Surely Wolfe could give him some solid advice.

Ryan Wolfe leaned against the door frame and panted, as though he had run all the way from his apartment building.

Within five minutes, Delko had company on the couch and together they drank as though their problems would fix themselves.

"I figured that might have been the case. So…the self-confirmed bachelor is about to become a father." Eric took another drink and smiled to himself.

"I really don't know what to think. She's been trying to let me know for a few days. Tell me, Delko: am I happy about this? Is this a good thing?" Ryan wondered. Eric Delko had never quite seen him this way before.

Ryan Wolfe…the man with an answer for everything. The man who seemed to know what to do in every situation and have a never-ending supply of confidence. The same Ryan Wolfe who at this very moment was struggling to find a new kind of answer.

"Are you guys still together?" Delko asked him. Ryan shrugged.

"I think so. I hope so." Ryan finally managed to say. He rubbed his eyes and exhaled sharply.

"It might take you awhile to get used to this, but I think you'll warm up to the idea. I think you'll make a great father." Eric told him. Ryan nodded rather numbly.

"Should I try to…call again? Should I go to Sloane's place and talk to her?" Ryan wondered. He was all out of sorts and for Delko, it was quite amusing to watch.

"Give yourself a chance to process this, Wolfe. If you talked to her right now, you'd wind up saying something stupid. I'm guessing she told you over the phone for that very reason…My advice? Sleep on it and talk to her tomorrow."

"You think I'll be able to sleep?" Ryan asked, his eyebrow raised.

In the morning, Keats said her goodbyes to Sloane and little Braden, leaving them in the company of Roger as soon as he was able to get off work. The night had been somewhat enlightening for Keats. All her bouts of indecision had faded, and she was left feeling quite good about having a baby. Sure, there would be times when she'd be overwhelmed, but life was just like that sometimes. And besides, the baby was coming whether she was ready or not. She decided to be ready.

"Jeez. They were just trying to pick up sandwiches." Keats mumbled, glancing down at the two high-school aged boys who were lying in a neat pool of blood. The call went out at 1 a.m. from the local hoagie shop, but the crime scene had yet to be processed thoroughly. Calleigh took samples of the blood and glanced around for any shell casings. Keats, however, was seconds away from being dismissed back to the lab.

"What are you still doing here? It's way too hot for you to be out in this weather, baby. Go back to the lab and file a few things for me, okay?" Alexx said, finishing her exam. Keats felt a strong urge to argue.

"Come on, Alexx. Don't do this to me now. Pretty soon I won't be able to do any field work. Let me just-"

"No. I don't want you out here. If I have to, I can get notification that you can't examine any more crime scenes for awhile. Just be kinder to your body from now on, okay? You're sharing with someone now." Alexx said. Keats heaved a sigh. _How can I argue with that? I wish I'd thought more about what the baby would do to my career._

Keats slumped into the lab with her shoulders hunched. It was unfair that the baby got to make all the decisions...just by existing. _Did I say I was ready? I guess I'm back to square one. _In truth, she didn't want to blame the baby, and she didn't want to give herself a reason to resent the baby. But all these changes weren't exactly giving him or her any prenatal brownie points.

"Hey, Keats. Do you have any plans this weekend?" She heard a voice say. She whipped around and was standing in front of Cooper. He might have been the very last person she expected to see if he hadn't been the last person she wanted to see. But since fate had a funny way of dealing her strange and ill-fated luck, she sort of expected to see him first thing.

"Kind of." She said awkwardly. _Good thing Ryan isn't here._

As if summoned, Ryan Wolfe emerged from the elevator and walked down the hall with an extemely haggard expression on his face. Upon seeing Keats and Cooper together, he held back a rather strong wave of fury. He immediately made his way over to them, and Keats held her breath nervously.

"Are you okay?" He asked, ignoring Cooper. Keats bit her lip and prayed that Ryan wouldn't say anything. She wanted to tell Cooper herself.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" Cooper turned to Keats worriedly. Keats gave a modest shrug and scratched the back of her head.

"Well, she's been having morning sickness lately." Ryan replied swiftly. Cooper looked at Keats confusedly, but then he did a double take and Keats felt her face turn red. She felt extremely mortified.

"You're such an ass, Wolfe." She said. She broke off into a brisk trot and didn't slow until she'd reached the staff lounge. If ever there was a time that she needed sustenance in the form of a stiff drink, it was then. And the very reason why she needed it was precisely the reason she could not. It was maddening.

"Is that why you hung up on me? Because you're with Cooper? Did you need an easy out?" Ryan snapped, bounding into the lounge.

"Please don't do this to me. Cooper and I aren't together and you know it." Keats sighed. It was a fight they'd had far too often and she had grown weary of it.

"...it's not...his?" Ryan managed to say after a time. Keats felt as though she'd been punched in the gut. If that's what he really thinks of me, then I guess that's it.

"That's none of your business. We've been hurting each other a little too much, don't you think? How about we end this for good? I'm up for it." Keats said. She brushed past him and gave herself a stern talking to when she began to feel warm tears well up in her eyes.

In every way imaginable her difficulties were beginning to mount.


	11. Becky Rogers' Neighborhood

Keats Juniper Remington entered the Crime Lab of Miami Dade. Her days were numbered, she knew, so she made an effort to enjoy each and every minute.

"Good morning, Ms. Remington. How are you, today?" A chipper voice sang. Keats sighed inwardly and turned around to face her nightmare of nightmares. The only person who had the power to threaten her enjoyment...The Personnel Assistant Becky Rogers.

"I'm wonderful. You?" She said with fake sincerity. Becky had been stepping all over her toes for the past week, ever since she'd notified everyone of her pregnancy. Not only had she made it impossible for Keats to do field work until after she'd returned from her maternity leave, but she also prevented her from doing certain lab activities, due to harsh chemicals and such.

All Keats was left with, unfortunately, was a steady supply of paperwork. The least exciting part of the job.

"I hope you've been taking it easy, there." She said in a babyish voice. She pointed toward Keats' tummy and made a childish face that gave Keats the urge to vomit.

"Don't worry. I've been careful." Keats managed to say through the nausea.

"Obviously not, or you wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place!" Becky laughed. Keats did not. Becky hid the laugh by clearing her throat straight afterwards.

"Do you know what today is?" Becky asked. Keats was beginning to despise Becky's condescending tone of voice.

"Oh, surprise me!" Keats gave a forced smile. Becky pulled a white lab coat from behind her back and waved it around proudly.

"I get to follow you around and monitor the safety of your activities!" She squealed. Keats had no idea that a Personnel Assistant was in charge of protoccol for pregnant officers. But then again, according to Becky, there were a lot of things that she didn't know. Keats swallowed a multitude of nasty comments and headed toward the audio/visual lab, the only place she was allowed to go save for one of the offices.

Cooper was fiddling around with a sound bite, trying to take out all the white noise in order to hear the segment properly. Keats came in and sat down beside him. Immediately he tensed up and turned away from her, focusing on the screen. Keats bit her lip and cursed Ryan Wolfe on the inside.

"Cooper...c'mon. There's no need to be weird around me. So what if I'm pregnant? That doesn't change our relationship." Keats said. Cooper flinched as if she'd slapped him and he rotated around his floppy chair to face her. He glanced upward at Becky Rogers and made delicate motions for her to leave. Becky Rogers, however, was nonplussed.

"Becky, do you mind giving me a moment alone with Cooper?" Keats asked. Becky turned up her nose and opened her mouth as if to protest.

"Please, Becky. Just a minute?" Keats turned up her eyes and made her lower lip stick out, hearkening back to the days of childhood. _What else would a child respond to better than another child?_

Becky was moved by the gesture and stepped out slowly, nodding as though she understood perfectly. Keats cocked her head to the side, mildly amused that her pouting had worked. She shook her head and turned to Cooper. Cooper was visibly uncomfortable.

"Listen, Keats...I don't know if I can handle this. I thought I had a chance with you, and then I find out that you're knocked up by a guy I can't stand. What am I supposed to do?" Cooper exclaimed. Keats immediately felt hurt by his admission, particularly the phrase 'knocked up.' But she figured he had a damn good reason to be angry.

"I'm sorry. I really am. But I can't change any of this, now. The best we can do is move on, Cooper. Can't we still be friends?" She asked. Cooper acted as though he'd been severely offended by the question and rose out of the chair quickly, darting out of the lab before Keats could call out to him. Keats rubbed her forehead in frustration. _Damn._

Keats left the audio/visual lab, running to catch up with Cooper even though she had no idea what to say to him.

"Keats, hold on." Someone called. Keats looked over her shoulder and acknowledged Natalia Boa Vista walking briskly up the hallway. Keats slowed and waited for her.

"We have a suspect for the double-murder at the hoagie shop. But you are never going to believe who it is..." Natalia opened a file and handed her a picture of a fingerprint in the puddle of blood. Keats stared at it and shrugged.

"Who?" She asked. Natalia seemed rather reluctant to say, but she took a deep breath.

"Morgan Flannery." She said. Keats' mouth hung open in shock.

"_My _Morgan Flannery? My _ex-boyfriend _Morgan Flannery? _That _Morgan Flannery?" Keats asked in one breath. Natalia nodded vehemently.

"I didn't want to say anything until I was 100 percent sure."

"Hold on...why is he in the database anyway?" Keats asked. Natalia's eyes shifted around guiltily, like she was hiding a secret.

"Natalia." Keats said warningly. Natalia nodded.

"All right, all right. Morgan was indicted on a false charge last year concerning conspiracy. He was accused of loitering money from his place of employment, First National, which turned out to be a set-up. He was framed by another employee at the bank."

"What? He lives here?" Keats felt her brain nearly pop.

"He moved here around the time of your internship and last semester at Miami U. Can somebody say 'stalker'?" Natalia joked. Keats gave a weak laugh.

"So he lied when he told me...well...he never actually told me anything..." Keats began to realize. She suddenly thought of herself as the biggest fool in the world.

"Keats, don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing. He's just one of those people that always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." Natalia tried to console Keats as best she could.

"His fingerprint in a gigantic pool of blood? How can that be accidental?" Keats shrieked. A few officers walking by gave her worried looks. Keats sighed loudly.

"What's the matter?" Calleigh Duquesne asked in her fresh southern drawl. Natalia and Keats jumped with a start.

"Nothing." Keats said.

"Yeah, nothing. Just checking out the fingerprints of our prime suspect." Natalia added.

"You didn't tell me he was the _prime _suspect." Keats whispered. Natalia gave her an apologetic glance.

"I sincerely hope that if you aren't objective to this case, you'll back down." Calleigh said.

"Oh, I'm objective. I barely know the guy. Passing acquaintance..." Keats said. Calleigh nodded, unconvinced.

"I don't want to give anyone the chance to question your work, Junie. I know things are already complicated enough as it is. Congratulations, by the way." Calleigh said, heading on to the ballistics lab.

"Prime suspect?" Keats asked again, twisting around to look Natalia in the eye.

"Unfortunately, yes. We don't have a murder weapon to print, so we just have the shells to go by. He's the only person we've got so far."

"This is rich. Oh, man...what should I do? I have to help him somehow, but I don't want to compromise the evidence. Ugh..." Keats bit the edge of her thumb nervously. She felt a light tap on her shoulder and spun around.

"It seems to me that you have your answer, don't you?" Becky said shrilly. Keats tightened her lips and suppressed a grunt.

"Ms. Rogers, what exactly do you mean?" Keats wondered.

"Well, you're obviously under an extreme amount of stress due to this case. I'm required to eliminate anything stressful from your job because of your delicate condition." Becky explained. Keats furrowed her brows together disconcertingly. _Oh, why don't you bite me???_

"Fine. There you go, Natalia. Good luck with the case." Keats said, slipping off to the lounge to get away from Becky Rogers. Becky Rogers followed her, and continued to do so for the rest of the day.

Keats entered Ryan's apartment and collapsed onto the sofa with a heavy groan. Becky Rogers was beginning to make her life a living HELL.

"Rough day?" Ryan Wolfe asked, lingering at the front door. He had made sure that their shifts ended at the same time so he could be with her.

"Tell me about it...Becky Rogers is one crazy ho." Keats said with a grin. In truth, she loved their new arrangement. The two of them lived together because Keats had nowhere else to stay on such short notice. But they weren't lovers in the least. Ryan had been sleeping on the couch and whatever conversation they shared consisted of non-controversial subjects.

It amused Keats to think that he was wrestling with himself over the paternity of her baby. She felt that he deserved it for doubting her. Ryan was also fighting with himself over whether or not to apologize. His pride was winning out thus far, but Keats knew it was only a matter of time before they were back together. At least, that's what she hoped.

"Yeah, well. I'm not too crazy about you working anyway." Ryan mumbled. Keats gave a short laugh, wondering if she'd heard right.

"Don't tell me you're one of those traditionalists. Little wifey needs to stay home and take care of the children, etc."

"You know I'm not. If you were a librarian or a doctor then it wouldn't be an issue. But you're a cop. Danger comes with the territory." Ryan said, coming to sit beside her on the sofa.

"Why are you concerned? As far as you know, the baby is Cooper's." Keats teased. Ryan's temper was visibly flaring.

"I've had enough, Keats. If this baby is mine, I want to know. I have a right to know." Ryan grabbed hold of her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. So close that she became nervous and could feel her heart beat faster. She loved the feeling and hoped it would never go away.

"Ryan, don't be stupid." She said, shrugging out of his grip. Perhaps she was a tease, but at least it kept Ryan on his toes.

"Stupid? What am I being stupid about?" He asked.

"Why would you think that I've been intimate with Cooper?" She shot back. Instead of waiting for him to answer, she stormed out of the room. She went into the bedroom that they had shared once upon a time, and slammed it hard behind her. Ryan followed, knocking on the door with fierce rage.

"You promised we wouldn't talk about this!" She yelled from the other side of the door.

"Too bad. I want to talk about it!"

"Well I don't!" Keats said petulantly. She waited for a response and was confused when she heard nothing but silence.

"Ryan?"

She heard Ryan emit a low groan, as though he were in pain.

"Are you okay?" Keats asked, opening the door swiftly.

Ryan was kneeling on the floor, his hand over his eye. _His eye? Oh, no..._

Keats knelt to the floor beside him, asking him about the pain. She then leapt to her feet and ran to the nearest phone, dialing an ambulance with trembling fingers.

"I'm okay, Keats. You don't have to call." Ryan stood up slowly, removing his hand from his eye. Keats replaced the phone in its cradle near the sofa, warily glancing at him to make sure he was all right.

"What was that about?" She asked. Ryan shook his head and went into the kitchen for a bottle of brew. Keats was hot on his heels.

"You've been having problems with your eye again...why didn't you tell me?"

"Because nothing's wrong!" He shouted, slamming the refrigerator door. Keats stood back, mildly frightened of his heated temper. Ryan saw the look in her eyes and gave a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell." He said, taking refuge on the couch and flipping on the television. Keats wondered if she should sit beside him and talk to him, or if she should just leave him alone.

"I'm sorry, too. But you have to know how much it hurt me that you thought I slept with Cooper." Keats said, sitting on the arm of the sofa. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"You know something? It's a lose-lose situation. Either I have to face up to my responsibilities as a father, or else I have to share your past with Cooper."

"Read my lips: I did not sleep with Cooper." Keats snapped. Ryan's expression remained stone-faced.

"I know."

"Hey! Why don't you believ- What?" Keats gave him a puzzled look. Ryan leaned back on the sofa and patted the seat next to him. Keats sat beside him gingerly.

"I've known."

"Then why...I don't think I understand." Keats began. Ryan gave a light shrug.

"I don't know why I said those things. Anxiety? Immaturity? Take your pick." Ryan rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ryan..." Keats began, massaging his shoulders consolingly. After all, she had been through this exact state of mind two weeks before.

"I know that it's hard to take care of babies, and I don't think I'm up to it." He said. Keats tried to hide her disappointment, but she made herself understand his place.

"You don't have to be. Listen: my Aunt Roe once told me that all parents are clueless when they first start out. When the baby comes, the parents know next to nothing. But eventually, as the child grows, so does the experience of the parents. It won't seem that bad, Ryan. Really." Keats said. Ryan glanced up at her.

Without warning, he wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a tight hug.


	12. Stetler Strikes Back

"...I'm afraid there are only a few options left, Mr. Wolfe. And the most promising of these options is surgery." Dr. Hardesty said, flipping through Ryan's medical files. He leaned back a bit in his chair and placed the files on his desk. Ryan Wolfe cleared his throat uncomfortably and leaned closer.

"Surgery. Remind me again about the details?"

"Your infection has returned, as you well know, and your cornea has become inflamed. This explains your sharp pains and blurred vision. This procedure is refractive eye surgery, and it physically rids of the disease instead of relying on modern medicine to heal the eye. After looking at the MRI, I discovered that a more aggressive approach needs to be taken. Otherwise, the damage done to the cornea will be irreversible. Another few years and you won't be able to function without learning Braille."

"Are you serious?"

"Ryan, I have never been more serious with you in my life. This thing isn't going to go away just because you're not telling anyone about it. I assume you want to see your child grow up," to this, Hardesty gave an apologetic sigh and glanced at Wolfe with sympathy, "That's why I highly recommend the surgery."

"Antibiotics won't work?"

"You've grown immune to them, I'm afraid. Which often happens after repeated use of a certain drug."

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck and wondered how he would explain a few days off work for the procedure and the recovery. But even that seemed rather simple when he began to wonder how he could get Keats out of the house for a week or less. Perhaps a vacation?

Always he had wanted to tell her, but she had been through enough, and she was still going through some things (which he certainly helped with). He figured if he could take care of it by himself, then she would be none the wiser and would have one less problem to deal with.

"Okay..." Ryan said, in a gesture of ultimate defeat. Surgery was no light matter, and he was still basically lying to everyone by not telling them. He not only had Keats to worry about, but his job as well.

"I'll call you later this week to schedule the proceedure." Hardesty rose and shook his hand, his eyes small and sad. Ryan nodded weakly, caught up in his thoughts.

Keats could feel her pulse race from anger and frustration. Becky Rogers may very well have been trying to eliminate all traces of stress from her job, but she was causing more harm than good.

"Interrogating suspects and witnesses does not cause me stress, I swear to you!" Keats said, very close to pulling out her hair. Becky Rogers smiled coyly.

"I've watched you. The veins in your neck pop out. That can't be good for your baby."

"The veins in my neck? Heh, funny, I'm usually one of the calmer ones at questioning. Hold on...I have no veins that pop out!" Keats squealed. Rogers was completely making crap up. It didn't make sense and it was more than hellishly annoying.

"Why are you making my job harder instead of easier? Don't tell me IAB wants me to go on maternity leave already?" Keats wondered. A flash of something crawled across Becky's face, but it soon disappeared.

"Of course not." She said primly. With that, she excused herself from Keats' company and went into her little office and Keats was finally alone. For how long, she didn't know.

The phone rang, as it often had in these past few months, and Sloane was up to her neck in advice. T.C. Remington and the entire Remington brood were coming to visit very soon for the sake of Sloane and her recent addition, and also to see if Keats was going to take her cues from Sloane and get herself married off as well.

"Hello?" Sloane asked, juggling a baby, the dishes, and some laundry in her arms.

"Hi, honey. How's my grandson?" T.C. Remington said with more than a hint of pride. Sloane smiled.

"Fine, Daddy. He's getting quite an appetite." She said, pulling the baby over her shoulder as she dried a few plates from the sink.

"Great. You know how we said we were coming next month to visit you and Rodney-"

"Roger." Sloane corrected.

"Whatever. Anyway, Tina and I were going on vacation to the Everglades anyway, so we'll be coming a little early. And when I got on the horn with your grandma, the rest of the family decided to come early too."

"Okay...fine...so when are you guys coming?" Sloane folded a few shirts over her knee with Braden in her arms.

"This Friday." He said. Sloane dropped a dish and barely registered the echoing crash.

"Three days? That's a little soon..."

"Really? No it isn't, honey. And anyway, everyone is looking forward to seeing you and Keats and the boys."

"Great." Sloane said, comforting Braden, who had become a bit fussy after the dish broke.

"I can hear that you're busy. We'll talk later, sweet pea. Bye now!" He said. Sloane hung up with a heavy sigh and stepped over the broken dishes.

Keats was sitting in one of the empty labs filling out random mindless paperwork and she almost wondered if going on maternity leave very soon would be a good idea. After all, she wasn't being challenged in any way. And it seemed almost torturous to watch Natalia and Calleigh go about their business doing things she loved doing but could no longer be allowed to do.

Maternity leave was looking very appealing indeed.

A slight vibration from her cell phone brought Keats out of her piteous trance and ushered her into a well-deserved break.

"Sloane? What's up?" Keats murmured, dropping her pen to the table.

"Everything, but I'm not calling about Braden. This is about Dad."

"Dad? What's wrong? Don't tell me they've decided not to come." Keats said, already feeling the disappointment begin to rise within her.

"Worse. They're coming this Friday."

Keats gulped. She hadn't even started to prepare for their arrival, and she especially hadn't prepared a speech about her unplanned pregnancy. Knowing the Remingtons, this would not be an ideal situation. For generations and generations, there hadn't been a single, full-blooded Remington to give birth out of wedlock. They were all delivered in the sanctity of marriage, even if they'd had a shotgun wedding to be sure of it.

Above all, Keats didn't want to marry Ryan under pressure. She wanted to marry him because she loved him, which she did...very much so. But her parents and other relatives would certainly have something to say about it. She cringed as she thought of what her father would do (or try to do) to Ryan when he found out.

"Keats? Say something already."

"I'm fine. I just don't know what to do, or how to tell them." Keats admitted. She felt an ominous shadow lurking behind her and she cautiously rotated her chair.

"Sloane? I gotta go. I'll call you later." Keats said, hanging up. She looked into the face of one Rick Stetler and immediately felt the air drain from her lungs.

"Nice to see you, Remington. This is primarily a friendly visit, so you don't have to panic." He said, taking a seat beside her. He gave her what was supposed to be a carefree smile, but on him, it was incredibly forced and unnatural. Keats could feel her face being to flush.

"Friendly? I had no idea we were friends, Stetler." Keats said, trying to keep her voice from trembling. Stetler gave a chuckle and leaned his elbows on the desk, making himself comfortable.

"I wanted to congratulate you on your baby. Is it so wrong to want to give my best regards on such a warm occasion?" He said. Keats narrowed her eyes at him.

"Not really, but usually I receive friendly emails...not friendly visits. The fact that you're seeing me in person has me a little worried." Keats said honestly. Stetler gave a look as if to say, 'fair enough,' and turned around in his chair to face her directly.

"Well, it hasn't escaped my attention that you and one of the other CSIs are currently involved with each other. Until now, it was only speculation, but I'm afraid a pregnancy is kind of hard to overlook."

"Are you telling me you deliberately turned the other way? Something tells me you were looking for a lucky break like this. Well, I guess it's my turn to say congratulations to you. But you'd be hard-pressed to prove any of it." Keats said, her confidence returning to her. Stetler inhaled sharply, his nose mildly flaring.

"If that's the way it's going to be, I guess it's down to brass tacks. What exactly is the nature of your relationship with CSI Wolfe?"

"Heh...Can you really ask that?" Keats wondered.

"I just did." Stetler replied. Keats sighed.

"I mean, can you really ask that and expect an answer? An honest one, anyway." Keats murmured. She crossed her left leg over her right and clasped her hands in her lap.

"I would very much like an honest answer, Agent Remington." Stetler pounded, turning the conversation into 'ping-pong dialogue'.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say. Is there an official investigation? Give me a reason and I'll loosen up." Keats retorted, rather enjoying the game.

"There may not be one now, but there will be, soon. It's better if you come clean now and avoid any messy entaglements later, if you get what I'm saying."

"Okay, let's say there is something going on between us...this is a purely hypothetical question, by the way...then what would happen?"

"Simple. One of you would have to be transferred. No fireworks like suspension or anything ugly like that. One of you will just have to work somewhere else."

"Hypothetically, mind you. I never attested that it was true. I was just curious." Keats said, trying to end the conversation.

"Let's cut to the chase, Remington. The longer you wait, the more messy things will get. If you tell me right now, you avoid most of your casework being questioned."

"What? What does a romantic involvement have to do with work?" Keats asked, horrified. Rick Stetler laughed a bit. A cold, tight laugh.

"You tell me...But I suppose it's the concept of the matter. You and Ryan could very well be covering for each other on certain cases...hypothetically, of course. Cutting corners, that sort of thing..."

"Says you. But certainly not me. Unless you come up with an ironclad warrant or something, I refuse to say anything more on the matter."

"I hope you realize that you're cementing your guilt by not cooperating. Denying it is better than pleading the fifth." He said, scooting away from the desk. He rose and waltzed out of the room leaving Keats to worry all by herself.

Ryan Wolfe sat across from Morgan Flannery. _The _Morgan Flannery, if one could believe it. He was fidgeting with his tie in one of the wooden seats in the interrogation room. Perhaps it was the Miami heat. Perhaps it was being questioned for accidentally being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps it was the fact that Ryan was competition for Keats' heart. Ryan put his money on the latter.

"So...Morgan Flannery. I see you're in the middle of a sticky situation. If you'll just relax and be completely honest, then you won't have to worry about a thing." Ryan said, somewhat proud by the fact that he wasn't threatened by him in the slightest. Morgan turned his firm lips into a deep frown.

"It was really dark in there..."

"At one in the afternoon?" Ryan interrupted. Morgan ignored him.

"Like I said, it was dark in there. I wanted my hoagie, but I tripped over something heavy. My hands went out to break the fall, and that's how my thumbprint got in the pool of blood. I can only guess that the thing I tripped over was a body. I really couldn't tell, though. Like I said, it was dark. Too dark to see clearly." Morgan sat back and shrugged.

"Dark? That defies all logic. The murder took place in the afternoon, and the hoagie shop has street windows. That doesn't make any sense."

"That's why you're the cop, right?" Morgan mumbled. He suddenly glanced at Wolfe with a determined sort of countenance. Almost as though he were...judging him.

"I guess some things in life are just unaswerable. Like, for instance, why Keats is staying with you instead of going after me."

"I'm a CSI, Mr. Flannery. If there's something that can't be solved in a case, I just work that much harder until I can find an explanation. As for the other thing, you might want to ask Keats."

Ryan stood up rather abruptly and left the interrogation room with a firm resolve to figure out why the hoagie shop had been 'dark.'

Becky Rogers made her formal entrance not long after Rick Stetler had left. She was extremely unwelcome, but Keats wasn't exactly free to tell her to shove off.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news." She said, not sounding at all like she thought it was bad news. Keats braced herself.

"What is it, Becky?" She said with a weary sort of sigh. Becky pursed her lips self-righteously and leaned against her desk.

"IAB would like a personal conference with you and CSI Wolfe. Neither one of you are permitted to work on any case until this matter is taken care of." She said. Keats nearly gasped. _Ohhhhhh shit._

Ryan scoured every last inch of the hoagie shop. He examined the ins and outs, the ups and downs, and the lengths and widths of the place. He devoured every nook and cranny with his eyes and he wasn't any closer to finding his explanation than when he started.

"Mr. Wolfe..." Ryan turned around and faced the one and only Horatio Caine.

"H? Have you seen anything unsual about this place?" Ryan asked, continuing his pursuit. Horatio pulled him aside and took off his reliable old sunglasses.

"We've got a bit of a problem, Mr. Wolfe. IAB is investigating you and Agent Remington. They want a private meeting."

"Now?" Ryan asked, seemingly disinterested.

"Now, Mr. Wolfe."


	13. Double The Fun

"What exactly is this about? I'm kind of in the middle of solving a case, here." Ryan said, leaning back in his chair.

Rick Stetler along with a few other colleagues of his, Jim Farrow and Charlotte Hobbday (IAB's finest), were sitting across from Ryan with paper and pens in hand. This was no simple interview.

"Mr. Wolfe, we've always had a strong policy on romantic entanglements within the Crime Lab, but as far as we've seen, these rules and regulations have not been enforced." Charlotte, an elderly lady with several haughty wrinkles around her mouth, gave a nod of the head when she was ready to hear Ryan's answer.

'Romantic entanglements? Why did they have to make it sound like a one-night-stand?' Wolfe thought grimly.

"That's nice. But I'm not really sure that this has anything to do with me." Ryan answered. Charlotte pursed her tight lips.

"We're reviewing you because of a formal charge brought on by-"

"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Hobbday. It took me half an hour to find a parking spot." Detective Berkeley closed the door behind him and sat in the chair next to Ryan Wolfe. Ryan could only gape.

"Bet you're surprised to see me, huh? You'd be surprised what a court of appeals can manage to do." Berkeley grinned. Ryan glowered at him in silence. Jake Berkeley made himself comfortable and flashed a smile to the trio on the other side of the table.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. Please continue, Mrs. Hobbday."

"As I was saying, Detective Berkeley brought on this charge, having been a witness, and IAB has been watching this lab very closely to see if we could verify his charge."

"And?" Ryan asked defensively. It was one thing for IAB to gang up on him, but with Berkeley as added fuel to the fire? He couldn't remember feeling angrier in his life.

"There are traces of evidence, naturally, but CSIs are usually pretty good about hiding their tracks. However, we did find enough reasonable doubt to question you personally." Jim Farrow spoke up. He was a tiny man that posed little threat. He twitched his mustache and faded into the background once again.

"What are you looking for? A confession?" Ryan asked. Jake suppressed a laugh.

"No need to overreact. These aren't exactly criminal proceedings, Wolfe." He said.

"What is the nature of your relationship with CSI Remington?" Stetler asked.

Ryan glared all around him. He had been led into a trap and he was now fighting for his job.

_This is all my fault. I should have told Stetler the truth when he asked for it. Now we're going to lose our jobs...or something...anyway, this is all my fault. How are we going to raise a baby when we're unemployed?_

"Food stamps?" Sloane asked. She took another bite out of her hamburger. Keats shook her head and sighed. Going out to lunch with her sister was not distracting her enough from her problems.

"How did you know what I was thinking about?" Keats asked, though she really didn't have to.

"It's all over your face, Kit. I know you're thinking it. So what if you get fired? Become a teacher like me. I'm happy." She said, giving a smile that couldn't fool anyone.

"Don't worry, Sloane. When the baby is a bit older, you can go back to school. This sabbatical won't last forever, you know." Keats said consolingly. Sloane sighed.

"I don't think Rodney finds me attractive anymore."

"Roger."

"Whatever." Sloane laughed.

"You're surprised? You don't even know his name." Keats said, sipping her Dr. Pepper through a straw. Suddenly she felt a lurch in her stomach.

"Not again." Keats moaned. She lazily got up and tottered off to the restroom to vomit. Sloane glanced after her with a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, Sloane."

"Hi, Natalia." Sloane said as Natalia Boa Vista got herself a sandwich from the machines. Natalia went over to Sloane.

"Lunch with K.J.?"

"Yeah...she just can't be without me for even one day." Sloane giggled.

"Where is she, anyway?" Natalia wondered, taking the plastic wrap off her sandwich.

"Bathroom. She can't keep anything down. It's horrible." Sloane murmured.

"You know, I've been wondering what it would be like to be a mom. But God knows Eric isn't ready to commit to that kind of thing."

"They never are." Sloane said. Natalia sat across from her and they chatted a bit more. When Natalia was finished with her sandwich, she finally looked over to where the bathrooms were located.

"She's been taking an awfully long time." Natalia said. Sloane nodded, rising slowly to her feet. They both headed into the bathroom, thinking Keats was crying in one of the stalls and simply didn't want to come out.

"Kit?" Sloane called, leaning her head down to look under each and every stall.

"Oh, my God." Natalia cried, falling to her knees beside an unconscious Keats.

"Kit. No, Kit." Sloane cradled Keats' head in her lap and felt slow tears travel down her pale cheeks.

Natalia felt her wrist and checked her heartbeat. It was slow and even, like she was sleeping soundly. Natalia wanted to panic quite badly. But instead, she grabbed her cell and pressed 3, which was her speed dial number for an ambulance.

"Hold on...I'm all fine." Keats murmured. Natalia froze and looked down at her.

"Kit? Oh, thank God you're all right!" Sloane hugged her head. Keats grunted.

"What happened?" Natalia asked. Keats shrugged.

"I just haven't been eating that much. This happens a lot, actually. But it's never really happened at work before." Keats said softly.

"Have Alexx check you out." Natalia suggested. Keats shook her head forcefully.

"Then I'm calling the ambulance anyway." Natalia muttered. Keats sighed.

"Okay. I'll have her take a look."

"Good. Everyone will feel a whole lot better knowing that you're not going to be blacking out anymore." Natalia said with a cautious grin.

Jake Berkeley twiddled his thumbs while Ryan Wolfe received a lecture from IAB. In some small way, it was vengeance for testifying against him over a year ago. Sure, it wasn't near enough, but at least it was a start.

"Have you even talked to Remington, yet?" Ryan wondered.

"That is irrelevant, Mr. Wolfe. We are talking to _you_." Rick Stetler snapped. Ryan felt an intense urge to smack him in the face. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd wanted to.

'I love her. I love her so much that...I don't think I'll lie about her. I'd rather lose my job than be without her.' Ryan said to himself. He took a deep breath.

"Remington and I are involved, I'll admit." He said at length. Stetler visibly brightened. Berkeley hid a smile.

"And...you are ready to deal with the consequences that go along with this admission?" Charlotte Hobbday wondered. Ryan nodded submissively.

"Yes." He said. All the fight was gone. He cut his losses and hoped he'd be able to come through this relatively well.

"Straight from the horse's mouth." Jake Berkeley said with a grin. Stetler rolled his eyes, but he seemed rather pleased.

"As of now, you may return to whatever you were doing before this meeting commenced. Agent Remington will be coerced into taking early maternity leave and we will discuss the terms of a new arrangement in her absence." Hobbday said.

Ryan felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He never expected Remington to get the short end of the stick in this deal, but in retrospect, he realized that his seniority over her was his Trump card.

He realized that he'd done more harm than good. He'd made a pretty big mistake.

A damn big one.

"Junie, I think you're anemic. It's probably only temporary...unless..."

"Unless what?" Keats asked. She stood next to Alexx in one of the offices and strained her ears to hear more.

"I don't think I'm going to say it. It's too cruel to say to a first-time mom. It's actually too cruel to say to any mom." Alexx joked. Keats made a face.

"Unless what?" She asked again. Alexx laughed and finally relented.

"Have you been experiencing double the usual pregnancy symptoms?" Alexx asked. Keats shrugged her shoulders, admitting that she was seemingly vomiting all the time.

"Do you know where I'm going with this?" Alexx asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Keats shook her head lamely and was left still wondering.

"You're a smart girl. Think about it. Double the anemia and fatigue. You and your sister..."

"What about my sister? You aren't referring to-"

"It's incredibly possible. It _is_hereditary, you know."

"I know, but- Oh, no! I can't."

"I'm not saying for sure that you _are_having twins or anything, but it's definitely something to think about, hmm?" Alexx gave Keats a warm smile.

Keats was ready to pass out again and not wake up until after...preferably her twins had left for college.


	14. Bam! Sloane Kicks It Up A Notch

Keats' head was reeling. Twins? Was that even possible? At least for Keats…surely Keats wouldn't be saddled with twins on her first try. But somehow it rang all too true, as only true irony can do.

She gathered a few of her things together, casually glancing over her shoulder in case Stetler wanted to come back and harass her further. After several glances, she finally acknowledged the presence of Becky Rogers, an all-too common and unpleasant staple of her new era in the Lab.

"Did I park in the right spot, Becky? Did I not use the right brand of Styrofoam cup for my coffee? Is my lab coat not white enough for your tastes?" Keats muttered, suddenly feeling all of the pressure beginning to mount.

Not only was she in trouble with the Police Department because of her relationship with Ryan, but Ryan was in deeper trouble because of his seniority. The baby proved to complicate matters greatly within Keats' own conscience, as well as her general relationship with Ryan. Added to that, the future drama she knew she would experience when her family (aside from Sloane) found out about her pregnancy.

"Oh, no…nothing like that." Becky began with a rather eerily pleasant grin.

Keats shuddered.

"You're to go on maternity leave immediately. Until _further_ _notice_."

Keats eyes widened and began to glaze over. She felt a strong urge to pass out, but furrowed her brows and pulled herself out of her daze. She shook her head slowly as if she didn't understand the implications of her statement.

"That means you're to leave." Becky added with an irritatingly happy lilt.

Keats bit her lip angrily but forgot to bite her tongue in time.

"Piss off, Rogers." Keats said in a loud and furious voice. Rogers did a double take.

"Excuse me, Ms. Remington?" She asked.

"You heard me. Ever since I became pregnant you've been an incessant pain in the ass and I'm this close to telling you to shove your stupid rules up your-"

"Keats!" Natalia murmured in surprise. Keats caught herself and stopped her mini-tirade.

"Well…I wish I'd known how you felt earlier. I certainly wouldn't have wasted my time." Becky said in a huff. She left soon after and Keats was shaking her head in disbelief.

"You know…if that's as bad as it gets…then the hormone imbalances aren't that severe…" Natalia said helpfully. Keats glanced at her with an amused smile.

"Jeez, I hope it doesn't get worse." She laughed.

Within the hour, Keats had gathered a few of her things together and was preparing to leave the Lab. With a heavy sigh, Keats carried the box with her possessions and slowly made her way out.

"I know you're not leaving without saying goodbye, Miss Thing." Alexx said with a laugh. Keats turned around with a smile and set down her box. She immediately walked into Alexx's open arms.

"It's going to be way too quiet around here without you." Alexx said. Natalia nodded solemnly.

"No kidding." Natalia laughed. Natalia had maintained a rather difficult history in the lab, and knew how hard it was to come by a good friend such as Keats. Keats had practically demanded they become friends because she couldn't stand having any enemies.

And somehow they were becoming closer all the time.

"Take care of yourself." Natalia murmured. Keats nodded, waving. Then, she was gone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dad said that he would be here by five, but Mom and Hastings are going to arrive at three. At least, that's what they told me this morning." Sloane muttered, trying fervently to clean up the house she shared with her husband.

Keats was cooing at little Braden, admiring his tiny fingers and toes.

"Are they having dinner here?" Keats wondered. Sloane disappeared into the laundry room, giving a shriek of horror.

"Of course! Hence the necessary 'straightening up' of the house." Sloane called out to her. Keats hid a smile and continued to bestow heaps of attention on Braden.

"Are you going to tell them?" Sloane asked, poking her head into the living room. Keats drew back in shock.

"Tell them what?"

"…"

"Oh, that…well, yes…eventually…" Keats stuttered. Sloane rolled her eyes.

"I'm giving you a perfect opportunity tonight. Mom and Hastings and Dad and Tina-Shelly are going to be here, _and_ Aunt Roe and Grammy, but so are the boys. And so am I."

"So?"

"I assumed you'd want witnesses." Sloane said dryly. She then disappeared into the kitchen and began rattling pots and pans.

"True," Keats said, following her into the kitchen, " By the way, whatcha making?"

"I call it my 'Let me die in peace' Casserole. Followed by some 'Leave me the hell alone' Pie."

"What charming names. You really know how to make people uncomfortable." Keats giggled.

"Have you guys decided what you're doing?" Sloane asked, beginning to stir up a crazy concoction of broccoli and cheese.

"Ryan? He's warming up to the idea. I'm pretty sure he wants to get married, but I kind of don't want to…" Keats began. The look on Sloane's face stopped her cold.

"What?" Keats asked.

"Kit, five generations of Remingtons just rolled over in their graves. Do me a favor and tell 'em that one while I'm not around. I don't want to be privy to a murder."

"I do want to marry him, but I don't want to get married just because of the baby. If we got married now, that's what it would feel like."

A sudden knock at the door interrupted their conversation.

"Oh, shit." Sloane said. She threw a dishtowel over her shoulder and sighed. She ran to the door and took a deep breath, fixing her hair in case it was her mother. She opened the door slowly and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, it's you." She mumbled, sighing with relief. Keats saw that it was Ryan, and she felt a jump in her stomach…like butterflies.

"Keats, can we talk?" He said, pulling Keats aside.

"I can take a hint. Don't mind me, I'll just be cooking." Sloane said, returning to her culinary catastrophes.

Ryan took Keats by the shoulders, his eyes somewhat regretful.

"I know you're probably angry with me, but let me explain." Ryan began.

"Explain what?"

"Stetler. He's been getting his information from Berkeley."

"What?" Keats cried.

"I was backed into a corner. I told them everything."

"You?" Keats repeated the sentence in disbelief.

"Look, we're gonna figure this out, Keats. You and me."

"Am I going to be fired?"

"Let's not jump the gun, Keats. So far, it's just a temporary suspension until they can figure out what to do. You were going to go on maternity leave anyway, right?"

"But not for a few more months. Aww, man…" Keats sighed.

"Maternity leave?"

Keats and Ryan turned to Sloane's front door, which had been left wide open. Harvey and Miles were standing in the doorway with a bag of chips looking incredibly bewildered.

"Kit, why'd you let that guy knock you up?" Miles said, his mouth full.

"Hey!" Ryan started. Keats held up her hands to silence them.

"Hold it, guys. Let's not start a mini-bruhaha or whatever before the real crazies get here. Miles…Harvey…I'm kind of counting on you guys to back me up. Mom and Dad and everybody aren't going to be that supportive."

"I got your back, baby doll." Harvey said, pinching Keats' nose. Miles nodded in agreement.

"It's not that I don't like you, man, but she _is_ my baby sister. I have to look out for her. But no hard feelings." Miles added. Ryan gave him a nod to say that he understood.

"You're really pregnant, Kit? That's great." Harvey said, hugging Keats.

"When's the wedding? I have to check my schedule because, as you know, I'm a very busy man." Miles said with a grin. The boys looked at her expectantly, and Keats swallowed rather nervously.

"We're not getting married." Keats said.

"Since when? Why didn't you tell me?" Ryan shot back.

"Well, it's not like you proposed anyway. Talking about marriage isn't the same thing as getting engaged." Keats retorted. Where was the romance?_Precisely my point._

"I haven't asked you because you told me you weren't ready." Ryan said. Keats had to admit he was right. Damnit.

"So…how 'bout those dolphins?" Miles said.

"Yeah. They've had a helluva season!" Harvey played along.

"What season? They've lost all but two games this year." Sloane shouted from the kitchen.

"Are you staying for dinner, Ryan?" Harvey asked.

"Is that an official invitation?" Ryan wondered. Sloane emerged from the kitchen and stood beside Keats.

"I, for one, would like you to stay. I don't want Kit to face the firing squad all by herself." Sloane said, almost condescendingly. Keats tossed her a playful glare.

"It's not going to be that bad." Keats said. Ryan was unconvinced.

"Keats, I want to be there when you tell them." Ryan said. He took hold of her hand, using the gesture to emphasize his sincerity. Sloane nearly swooned.

"If I were her, I'd be so hot for you right now." Sloane told him. Keats suppressed a laugh and suddenly felt a swell of love rise up within her.

"That's really decent of you. But unfortunately I can't let you stay. They may get mad at me and raise hell, but I'm pretty sure they won't kill me. You, on the other hand, I can't guarantee. If Dad finds out you're the father, he may just shoot you."

"Actually that's true. Dad always carries a gun with him everywhere. He's like the Floridian Jimmy Haffa." Harvey said.

"But, if you tell them that you're planning to marry her…" Sloane began.

"Then they'll be a lot more understanding." Miles finished.

"But we haven't exactly decided that yet!" Keats fussed.

"Lemme guess: You're not ready." Ryan snapped.

"Stop being so stubborn." Sloane told Keats. Keats pursed her lips.

"How dare you guys gang up on me?" Keats squealed.

"Fine, then. Let's talk about it. Preferably somewhere private." Ryan said.

Another knock at the door interrupted yet another conversation. Harvey swung the door open and gave Glenn and Grammy a grim smile.

"It's too late for that, now." Sloane muttered.

"Sloaney, dear, where's my great-grandchild?" Grammy said, air-kissing everyone as she entered.

"Unfortunately still in the zygote stage of existence." Miles quipped. Sloane dug her heel into Miles' toe until he let out a loud yelp.

"In the nursery." Sloane pointed. As Grammy left the room, Glenn gave Miles an inquisitive glance, but Miles shrugged innocently.

"What's going on?" Glenn wondered. It sounded like a casual beginning to a friendly conversation, but everyone knew Glenn and how suspicious he was, so the comment turned out to be rather interrogative.

He would find out soon enough anyway.


	15. The Family Punchline

Grammy went into the nursery and emerged a second later carrying her great-grandson with special pride.

"He's so cute…he looks just like Sloane did at her age." Grammy cooed, lightly tickling under his chin.

"Don't ever say_that_ again, Grammy. Just look how she turned out." Miles joked. Sloane rolled her eyes and slapped Miles with a powerful backhanded swing.

"You know what? I'm not really quite ready for dinner…maybe if everyone can catch a movie or something, I'll have everything ready by the time you come back." Sloane suggested. She caught Keats' eye and they shared a look of relief.

"Or we could just go out to eat as soon as Mom and Dad get here." Glenn said. Grammy nodded at him like it was a fine idea. Sloane and Keats then shared a look of utter panic.

"That's wonderful, Glenn. We can go to Red Lobster!" Grammy exclaimed.

"That's a little pricey, Grammy." Keats said, thinking mainly of the fact that she was out of work for the time being. _Having practically been fired…_

"I know, right?" Sloane muttered.

"Nonsense. I'm going to foot the bill for everyone." Grammy said, magnanimously.

"Jeez, Grandma, you don't own a country. You should save that money for a nice retirement home or something." Harvey blurted out.

"Just what is that supposed to mean, Harvard Eugene Remington?"

"Hah, Eugene." Keats chuckled to herself.

"Let's go ahead and get a table so they can meet us when they arrive in town." Grammy said, ignoring most of whatever was said after that point.

Red Lobster was a bit crowded, not too crowded, mind you, but crowded enough that Keats predicted she'd have a suitable audience when the many truths were laid out across the table.

"This is wonderful, isn't it? All the family together…" Grammy said happily. She was met with weak moans and mumbles.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked Keats, his voice low. She nodded slowly.

"I'm fine. But family just tends to make me nauseous."

They were seated at an extremely long table in front of a window overlooking a bright street of Miami. It was early dinnertime, perhaps four in the afternoon, and the sun was still shining brightly along the strip.

"Hi, kids!" A familiar voice squealed. All eyes turned to Selvia Hastings, adorned in silk and pearls with a smile to match. Old Hastings, her decrepit husband, hung onto her arm for support (as opposed to a cane or a walker) and Cecily and Lavinia, now a full year older, came toddling behind them.

"Kitty!" The two bubbly blond girls threw their arms around Keats and hopped up and down excitedly.

"Just how many nicknames is that, now?" Miles asked. Keats shrugged weakly. Cecily and Lavinia then began arguing over who would get the other seat beside Keats, since Ryan was sitting to her immediate left.

"Hey, where are Simone and Wyler? Those guys are a laugh riot!" Harvey said.

"They…decided not to come." Selvia said a bit awkwardly. Sloane gave a loud sigh of relief and Glenn gave a slight chuckle.

The fight was soon resolved, as Lavinia was told to sit in between Selvia and Old Man Hastings because she was still too young to behave by herself. (_Whatever that means…_)

Since Rod wasn't coming (he begged Sloane for mercy), Cecily was able to sit in the empty seat between Sloane and Keats.

"I really missed you." Cecily told Keats. Keats mustered up a small smile, as she had several things weighing on her mind.

"Juniper, dearest, is something bothering you?" Grammy said, bouncing Braden on her lap as they waited for their drinks.

"No. I'm fine." Keats said. She glanced over at Ryan, who was carrying on a conversation with Miles and Harvey, seated directly across from him.

"You look as though you've lost some weight." Grammy added, taking out her glasses and staring Keats down like a hawk. Keats squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. Glenn noted her discomfort, looking her in the eye as though she would confess.

_Does he know?_

As soon as the waiters arrived with several bottles of Chardonnay, Glenn filled a glass for himself, and then, as though reading her thoughts, filled another glass for Keats.

"I've been wanting to make a toast. Here's to my one and only nephew." Glenn began, handing Keats the glass of Chardonnay with an expectant smile. Sloane caught on to his game and reached out for the glass, taking it from him before Keats could respond.

"Thanks, Glenn. I never knew you were so sentimental." Sloane murmured, downing the glass in one gulp.

"Sloane, dear, a lady never scarfs down alcohol like a seaman on shore leave." Grammy said self-righteously. Sloane let out a loud burp and Grammy reddened from embarrassment.

"That was a ten." Keats murmured, smiling. Glenn ignored Sloane and leaned over to Keats, using his index finger to beckon her closer.

"If you don't tell them…then I will." He said.

"Don't be silly, Glenn, there-"

"Save it." Glenn leaned back in his chair.

Within ten minutes, T.C., Tina-Shelly, and Oliver had joined the group, and Lavinia began to feel a strong urge to go to the bathroom. During the commotion, Keats leaned over to Sloane and began whispering in her ear.

Sloane thought for a minute and eventually nodded.

"Grammy, while Kit is taking Lavinia to the bathroom, I'm going to take Braden and give him a fresh diaper while I'm in there." Sloane said, taking little Braden from Grammy Remington's hands.

Keats squeezed Ryan's shoulder and stood up, following Lavinia and Sloane to the bathroom.

"So, you like, really shoot people and stuff?" Harvey asked Ryan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Keats, we're never going to pull this off!" Sloane cried. Sloane had been wearing a tight-fitting red blouse and an even tighter black skirt. A pair of matching red pumps completed the outfit.

Keats struggled to stand up straight wearing her sister's red heels.

"You look funny, Kitty." Lavinia giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.

Keats had been wearing jeans and a white button-up dress shirt with pink Chuck Taylor high tops and a loose ponytail.

Sloane was struggling with the laces, receiving help from Lavinia to have them properly tied. Braden gurgled, lying on a baby blanket in Lavinia's lap.

"Has it been _that_ long since you've worn regular shoes?" Keats asked in disbelief.

Once they were finished dressing, they examined themselves in the mirror.

"This is never going to work." Sloane said again.

"I need more time to tell them. I realize that I'm not ready to tell them tonight. But I need to get Glenn off my back for now."

"So I'll just drink a little wine pretending to be you and Glenn will be convinced?" Sloane asked sarcastically. Keats nodded, realizing how lame she sounded.

"Just don't kiss Ryan or anything."

The girls returned to the table as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Sloane sat down next to Ryan, and Keats carried Braden back to Sloane's seat by Grammy Remington.

"This couldn't have been any more complicated?" Sloane whispered as they sat down.

T.C. Remington glanced at Sloane fondly, rubbing the side of his face.

"How are things at the Police Department, sweetie?" He asked. Sloane had forgotten that she was supposed to answer until Keats elbowed her in the side.

"Um…fine." Sloane said. Ryan furrowed his brows, recognizing the ever-so-slight change in her voice. He glanced at Keats from over Sloane's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" He mouthed at her. Keats shrugged.

"Well, now that everyone's here…your father and I have an announcement to make…" Selvia began, tapping her fork to her glass. T.C. Remington stood up proudly and motioned toward Ryan.

"Yesterday, this fella gave me a call and asked me and Selvia to come down early because he had something important to ask us." T.C. began. Keats felt her breath catch in her throat.

"It was the sweetest thing. He asked our permission to marry Keats!" Selvia exclaimed.

"During our little chat, I realized that he's very serious about her, so I told him that I had no objections to him marrying our little girl." T.C. went on, a hint of emotion in his hard voice.

Ryan reached into his pocket and withdrew a ring. This ring was different from the one he'd given her before. It was more subtle…a truly classic fit. If possible, it seemed to shine brighter, as well.

Unfortunately, Ryan was at a loss when it came to giving the ring. He had no idea who to give it to.

"So, this whole thing was planned? This dinner? Everybody was in on it?" Sloane asked.

"Of course, baby. We told everyone except 'Sloane', because, let's face it, she's just _terrible_ at keeping secrets." Selvia said, making the twins realize that they hadn't fooled anyone by their switching.

Sloane made a face and Keats could tell she was incredibly angry.

"Everyone knew?" Keats asked again. Ryan began to smile, suddenly seeing the humor in the situation. Miles and Harvey were laughing and clinking their glasses together like drunken fools.

"But we never thought you'd switch places before the announcement." T.C. added, guffawing like a sick horse.

"You girls are just too funny." Selvia said, trying to chuckle politely like a lady.

"Hey, Ryan, so which one ya marryin'?" Harvey asked. This statement brought about the loudest laughs yet, and it seemed to Keats and to Sloane as well that they had become the family punchline.

Ryan went over to where the real Keats was sitting, and kneeled beside her, gently taking her left hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you or Sloane about any of this, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"It's a surprise. It's a big surprise." Keats began, biting her lip. Her head was swimming. It was practically doing the backstroke.

Ryan slipped the ring over her finger, kissing her cheek modestly.

A chorus of 'awwws' and 'yays' sounded, and then the dinner became an impromptu engagement party.

Several glasses of Chardonnay were poured in celebration and Sloane took one, tossing it back like a lush.

Even Glenn dared to show a smile.

"Let's just hope the baby doesn't look like Keats." Harvey said suddenly, assuming everything was brought to light.

"Huh?" T.C. spewed his beverage.

"Does it really matter, Toby? He's marrying her, after all." Selvia said.

"Tobias." Grammy and T.C. corrected.

"…" Keats and Sloane shared a look of misery, despite the fact that everything was out in the open and no one was in immediate danger.


	16. Bad Lying For Good Reasons

**Drama drama drama! I've got some plans for Keats, so even though she's not 'on the job', it's not like danger won't find her instead. Haha...anyway, it's been awhile, so please enjoy! **

"I'm glad you came to meet me like this. Knowing you're engaged and all." Morgan said, gauging Keats' response. Keats betrayed no emotion at all, but merely sipped her glass of water.

They were sitting at a lovely table in a quaint Italian restaurant with checkered tablecloths and drippy candles sticking out of wine bottles. If Keats hadn't been with Morgan at that very moment, she would have allowed herself to be enchanted by the ambience.

"I guess…what I'm trying to say is…thanks." Morgan said, flipping open his menu casually. Keats hid a snarl, but did her best to keep her composure.

"What exactly is this about, Morgan? I do have a fiancée, and because of that, I really don't feel comfortable having dinner with you. For whatever reason." Keats admitted. Morgan was nonplussed.

"But you agreed to have dinner with me. That means for better or worse, you can't refuse me anything."

"What?"

"Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way, but there are some things about your precious fiancée that you should know. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't level with you?" Morgan began. He saw Keats' eyes glisten with fear and curiosity. In a second…he knew he had her.

"What do you mean?" Keats began. After a few minutes of well-timed silence to peak her interest, Morgan went in for the kill.

"He's been lying to you." Morgan said, sipping some wine with the air of a man having a polite business dinner.

"Lying about what? Morgan, there isn't a single reason why I should believe you. You've been nothing but the bane of my existence for several years now. Let it go."

Morgan didn't even flinch. Instead, he gave a nonchalant shrug.

"All in favor? I guess the 'eyes' have it."

"Excuse me? Since when do you speak in riddles?" Keats asked, a sudden shiver going down her spine. His tone was rather eerie and his words were nonsense.

"It seems a certain fiancée of yours is going through a difficult time with his vision. And I don't mean that metaphorically." Morgan raised his eyebrows and then said nothing for a time. Keats was struggling inside herself.

_I trust Ryan completely…but I want to know what Morgan knows…_

"All right. I'll take the bait." Keats said calmly. Morgan gave a satisfied smirk.

"I figured you would. Anyway, you might have noticed a few strange things. Sudden attacks of pain, perhaps? To be honest, Keats, the way your mind works, I would have assumed you'd be all over this. But trusting him has made you too soft. And it's also made a tremendous fool out of you." Morgan added.

This attack on Keats' character seemed to fly right past her. The only thing that mattered was Ryan's safety.

"What's wrong? There's something he isn't telling me…" She began as though Morgan would pick up where she left off.

"You're darn right. But listen: I can only tell you on one condition."

"What condition?" Keats asked, suddenly in a panic. Perhaps Ryan's life was in danger.

"If you confront Ryan on this, which I'm pretty sure you will, then you can't let him know that I told you. Don't let anyone know that I told you. Keep my name out of it and we're all square. You won't want to know what happens if it gets traced back to me."

"Anything. Just please tell me." Keats pleaded. Morgan was mildly touched by her concern, but he remembered just whom her concern was reserved for, and he made a disgusted face.

"Fine, fine. I have it on good authority that our Mr. Wolfe is scheduled for surgery due to inflammation of the eye or some such junk. But the facts are that he's having problems and needs surgery. Risky, dangerous surgery. And judging by the look on your face, he didn't tell you a damn thing." Morgan sat back and studied her face. He found it incredible that she had not known _anything_ about it.

"You may trust him, honey, but it doesn't look like he trusts you." Morgan said after the silence became too heavy.

Keats simply sat and stared. Morgan cleared his throat uncomfortably and wondered if he'd done enough to split them up. He'd have to keep his eye on her.

Ryan leaned back at his desk and looked over the evidence photos from the Hoagie Shop Murders. Morgan Flannery's testimony didn't match the case, and it was becoming stunningly obvious that he was trying to psych Ryan out of the truth.

He heard the door open and smiled to himself. He had been stressing over her 'friendly dinner' with Morgan, but now that she had come back so soon, he regretted having wasted his time worrying.

He swiveled around in his chair, ready to embrace Keats as soon as she came into the study.

"Ryan…" He heard the familiar voice and went to her, pulling her to him. He began stroking her hair softly, putting his cheek to her soft forehead.

"Ryan, are you having surgery?" She asked in a voice that could barely be heard.

Ryan pulled her back and glanced at her face, peering into her eyes. She was cold and tense, and she didn't hug him back. She looked up into his eyes with hope and sadness.

"What?" He asked. Keats' eyes began to glisten.

"You've been lying, haven't you? About your eyes, I mean." Keats asked. Ryan's eyes widened a bit.

"Who told you that?"

"Is it true?" Keats asked. She held her breath and mentally crossed her fingers.

Ryan said nothing. He backed away, crossing his arms over his chest. He let out a sharp sigh and shook his head.

"I can't believe this…" Ryan started, his face darkening. He began rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"What? Is it true?" Keats bit her lip.

"Do I even have to say anything? It's obvious you're going to take Morgan's word over mine." Ryan pushed past her and a few seconds later, Keats heard the front door slam. She suddenly felt bewildered and confused, but most of all, she felt guilty.

She felt her cell phone vibrate and she flipped it open with a weak sigh.

"Hello?"

"Did you confront him?" Morgan asked. Keats rolled her eyes.

"Look, I don't think Ryan was lying to me. I never should have listened to you…Please don't call me again, Morgan."

"Whatever. I'll be waiting when you come to your senses. I care about you, Kit. Nothing will ever change that." Morgan hung up and Keats snapped her phone closed with a frown.

"Damn that bastard." She whispered.

She looked at her phone and debated calling Ryan to apologize.

_What would I say?_

Ryan's phone rang, sliding across the table as it shook. Caller ID? Keats, naturally. She had every right to question him. But he wasn't ready to confess to her.

"Keats-" He answered eventually.

"Ryan, wait. I'm sorry. I should have trusted you. It's just…it made sense to me…and I was worried about you. Please forgive me?" Keats asked.

Keats leaned against the desk in the study, waiting for his response.

"Keats…" Ryan began.

Keats accidentally knocked off several papers from the Hoagie Murders' case. She kneeled and began picking up the papers one by one.

"Listen, I…" Ryan tried to tell her the truth. But it was harder than he'd ever imagined it to be.

Keats' eyes were drawn to a medical procedure form at the bottom of the pile.

"You're really having the surgery, aren't you?" Keats asked again, her voice growing hard. After several minutes of silence, Keats let her hand fall from her ear. She held the phone limply by her side.

"Morgan was right?" Keats asked herself in shock. She could hear Ryan calling her name. Reluctantly she put the phone next to her ear again.

"What? The whole situation is kind of self-explanatory."

"My intentions were not…I didn't _not_ tell you because I didn't trust you." Ryan said lamely.

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions! Your reasons may be just, but that doesn't change the fact that you've been lying to me." Keats said. She suddenly felt a strong pain in her stomach and nearly gasped in surprise.

_Damn…what if the baby can tell I'm upset?_

"Keats, I'm coming home. We can talk about it then-"

"Don't bother. I won't be here." Keats said. She hung up quickly and winced as the pain in her stomach slowly began to subside. She moved to the bedroom and laid herself down carefully. She clutched her stomach and groaned.

"I'm sorry, baby. Daddy probably didn't mean to lie. I'm sorry for getting angry. Please be okay." Keats gasped as another swell of pain hit her.

Within ten minutes, she was able to stand and walk without much discomfort. The pain was nearly gone, but Keats was hardly relieved.

She managed to get to the bathroom in time before she vomited. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall facing the toilet. Her breathing became heavy and erratic. She began wiping her mouth with a washcloth and sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead as well.

When she pulled the rag away from her face, she caught sight of a red spot.

She carefully leaned over the toilet just as the front door was opening.

In a panic, Keats flushed the toilet and tossed the rag into the dirty clothes hamper. She rose and caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Little dribbles of blood clung to the edges of her mouth.

"Keats?" Ryan called.

Keats wiped at her mouth again with her hand, and when she was satisfied, she went to face Ryan.

"I'm here." Keats said, meeting him in the hallway.

"You're right. I lied. I was going to have the surgery and keep it a secret. I don't think I would have told you…ever…if you hadn't found out."

"This is supposed to be helping you?" Keats began, suppressing another wave of nausea.

"I wasn't going to tell you because I'm worried about you. I didn't want you to deal with the stress. The baby doesn't need it, either." Ryan said. He seemed to be defending his actions.

"Okay. I'll let it slide." Keats began.

"What?" Ryan's eyebrow went up suspiciously.

"But you have to promise me that next time something like this happens, you will tell me. You _will_ tell me. Right?" Keats asked. She was desperate to end the argument, if only for the sake of the baby.

"Keats…" Ryan looked at her questioningly. Keats was a firm believer in battling for her rights. If this wasn't an infringement on her rights, then he didn't know what was.

"Just promise me." Keats hid a groan as the pain in her stomach began to grow again.

"Fine. I promise. What's wrong?" He went to her side, his eyes wide and alert to some hidden danger.

"I'm fine. I'm going to see Sloane for a bit. I'll be back late." Keats said. She left the apartment taking deep breaths and after she closed the door behind her, she nearly collapsed to the ground.


	17. Keats Or Casper?

Keats knocked on the door repeatedly. Having connections was just one perk of being a cop, and after asking Valera to trace Morgan Flannery in the database, she received his address in five minutes.

"Hello…oh. Hey, Keats." Morgan had opened the door and gave a nod, allowing her inside without even the tiniest hint of surprise.

"Were you expecting me?" Keats wondered. Morgan gave a shrug. Keats sat down on his plaid frat boy couch and turned to Morgan nervously.

"I know you know more than you're letting on. Please tell me everything." Keats implored. Morgan frowned.

"I know what you know. Nothing more. But let's not make this a wasted trip." Morgan said. He gave her a smile as though he expected her to swoon.

Keats had probably already known that her old friend and love had changed for the worst since she'd last seen him, but only now did she permit herself to recognize it.

"What's happened to you, Morgan? Were you always this much of a sleazebag when we went out? I didn't notice." Keats said, wishing she hadn't bothered to come. In truth, she wanted to know everything about Ryan's surgery, but she was afraid of asking Ryan directly.

So she had come to see Morgan, hoping he would tell her. And he wasn't a big help.

"That's a low blow. Were you this much of a tramp when we dated? Back then you refused to have sex with me until we were married. Some kind of purity bullshit. Maybe that's why I broke it off with you in the first place."

Keats stood in front of him, stunned beyond words. She eventually found some, but she was still trembling from his harsh statement.

"How can you say that? I thought you respected me for that. You seemed thrilled because I was so different from a lot of the other girls. You tell me _now_ that it actually pissed you off?" Keats could feel her nostrils flare up.

Without even waiting for him to respond, she made as if to leave. He held his arm out and caught her elbow, swinging her back around to face him. He looked slightly curious, but more than slightly annoyed.

"I just want to know one thing." He said. Keats tugged at her arm and he let go casually. She gave a sigh as if to invite his question.

"What's so special about this guy? That you gave it to him and not me…" He trailed off and waited for her

"That's what's bothering you? You wanted to conquer me? There's your answer, asshole. Ryan isn't like that." Keats said with defiance.

"I doubt it. I'm guessing you just learned how to loosen up." Morgan said, winking. Keats reared back and slapped him across the cheek.

"Good luck with the murders. I hope you get bail." Keats called behind her as she made a hasty exit.

"He said that? No wonder you slapped him. I want to slap him now." Sloane said. She sat back in the dining room chair and sipped her cup of milk, grabbing a double-stuffed Oreo.

"So you don't think I was too harsh?" Keats asked.

"To Morgan? Nah. To Ryan…eh…to some extent, he deserves it too. But can you guys please work it out before my niece or nephew is delivered?" Sloane said, grinning a black and white smile. Keats broke into giggles.

"Well, anyway, cheers. Cheers to your breaking with the past, i.e. Morgan, and cheers to a wonderful new future with Ryan. Assuming things are worked out." Sloane held up her cup in salute.

"Unfortunately, I feel like stewing about it for awhile. I'm going to forgive him, but why should I make it easy for him by doing it so soon?" Keats smiled feeling extremely naughty, but not so much guilty. _Ryan should sweat over this as penance._

"Keats…are you okay? You look as white as Casper when the old priest and the young priest showed up with the holy water."

Keats felt a bit hot for some reason, and she fanned herself mildly, wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow. Keats shrugged, and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail.

"This is Miami in summer, Garcia…I'm surprised _you're_ not sweating." Keats replied.

Sloane ignored her least favorite nickname and reached out to feel Keats' forehead.

"Should we go see a doctor?" Sloane wondered, somewhat uneasily. Keats knew something was wrong, but seeing a doctor confirmed that something was wrong. As long as she didn't see the doctor, nothing was wrong…

_What screwed up logic! Keats, you're acting childish._

"I'm fine. Don't I look it?" Keats wondered. Sloane shook her head strangely.

"Can you please let me take you to the doctor, Keats? Please? I won't feel better until you do. You don't look…right."

"Aww, thanks. But I'm telling you I'm fine." She replied.

"Yeah…right…" Sloane said. She was unconvinced but she knew better than to try to argue.

Within the hour, Ryan came over to pick up Keats. The drive was quiet at first, but Ryan eventually pulled to the side of the road and stopped. He had realized that she hadn't said a word to him since they'd left, and it was really getting on his nerves.

"Keats, you said you'd forgiven me. I didn't believe you then and I don't believe you now. Now let's have it out. Yell at me or something." Ryan muttered.

Keats struggled to keep her eyes open Her head was bobbing back and forth, and she was incredibly tired.

"Hmm?" She asked.

"Don't pretend you're not listening. You might not understand why I didn't tell you, but believe me, I'm really sorry about the whole thing. And you know how hard it is for me to apologize, right?" Ryan asked with a small grin.

Keats was fast asleep. Ryan looked over and at first thought she was giving him the silent treatment. But after seeing that her eyes were closed, he smiled to himself.

Ryan was in the bathroom brushing his teeth before bed. He had just finished tucking in an exhausted Keats and wondered if she'd heard any part of his apology. He gave her sideways glances and shrugged to himself. Then he rinsed and went to bed.

He pulled back the covers and snuggled in next to Keats, eventually lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. He started to close his eyes when he heard his cell phone buzz on the nightstand next to him.

"Wolfe."

"Ryan, it's Sloane. I was just calling to check in on Keats."

Ryan sat up uneasily.

"What's wrong with Keats?" He asked warily.

"She looked a little sick when I saw her. And more than the regular sick. I mean _really_ sick."

Ryan looked over at Keats and wondered what to look for. She looked about the same except for a bit of perspiration on her temples. He leaned over her and felt her forehead. She was burning up.

"She's probably got a fever. Do you think I should panic?" Ryan wondered. Sloane thought this was cute, as usually Ryan would never ask someone what to do. He usually knew what to do, and if he didn't, he would wing it.

"I don't know. Try to wake her and ask her how she feels. And make her tell the truth." Sloane suggested.

"All right."

"Call and let me know what's going on later. Bye." Sloane said before hanging up. Ryan tossed the phone aside and gently shook Keats.

She was apparently in a very deep sleep, as she didn't even moan or groan or anything.

Ryan shook her harder, until her head was falling back and forth across the pillow.

"Keats. Wake up." He called.

Ryan began to pat her cheeks, calling her name louder and louder each time. His panic was mounting as it was becoming clear that Keats couldn't wake up.


	18. Hard To Love You

**Is it just me, or does anyone else not particularly like the direction CSI: Miami is going? I was watching a few of the older episodes this weekend and I was re-inspired. I guessed that I was probably mired down with the new plotlines because they are severely different from mine. Cooper, for example, will never be the bad guy. (That was total BS in my opinion.) Alexx will not quit her job anytime soon. (I was crushed. I really liked her.) Calleigh will NEVER be involved with Berkeley. (She lost some brownie points in my book for that.) And Eric and Natalia still have an ongoing romance in my story. And maybe I should say a little something about Horatio's son, but I feel like it might not fit in anyway. At any rate, this chapter and the chapters to come are dedicated to Seasons 3-5 of CSI: Miami. **

Keats opened her eyes slowly, sitting up in her uncomfortable hospital bed. Dr. Gerard's friendly face was drawn with heavy lines of concern. He approached her with his white clipboard and gave a heavy sigh.

"You didn't tell Ryan, did you?" She asked.

She knew something was wrong, but she didn't want Ryan to know. She didn't want him to worry. And then realization came flooding to her as she realized Ryan's motivations for doing what he did.

"I haven't been to see him since he admitted you, no. But I don't plan to leave him in the dark forever." Dr. Gerard said. Keats nodded.

"Level with me." Keats said eventually. Dr. Gerard stood in front of her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We've done a few tests…it doesn't look good." He began

"I killed it, didn't I?" Keats said slowly. She could feel that she wasn't pregnant anymore. She just knew it. _Call it an ex-mother's intuition._

"Keats, that isn't the case and you know it. Miscarriage happens sometimes. And sometimes you just can't prevent it." Gerard added.

"So I did lose the baby?" Keats asked. She thought about how Ryan would take the news and she figured he would be relieved. He'd never really wanted the baby. Even when he got used to the idea, he was never excited about it. He only seemed to use it as an excuse to marry her.

Now he no longer had one.

Dr. Gerard nodded his head sadly, confirming her fears. She'd lost her baby. Perhaps the only thing keeping her and Ryan together…

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes and Keats blinked them away quickly.

"I'm fine, Dr. Gerard. Really. As a matter of fact, I'm better than fine. This baby wasn't meant to be. And at least now I can have my old job back." Keats said, making light of an incredibly dark situation.

"I can refer you to someone if you need to talk through your feelings. And of course, I'm always here if you need me." Dr. Gerard said. He had been a trusted friend and physician for a few years now, and he had a voice that could always calm Keats' nerves. Keats had introduced him to Sloane and now he was the family physician for most of the Remington brood.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can deal with this." Keats assured him. Gerard was unconvinced, but he began filling out the paperwork to discharge her anyway.

Keats had had a tough pregnancy. So it wasn't exactly a surprise that she couldn't keep her baby alive. She felt like such a failure. As a mother, as a woman, as a future wife…

Gerard left the room and told her that he would be sending Ryan in. He wondered whether to tell him before and Keats insisted that she would break the news to him. She waited at the edge of the bed, her bare feet dangling above the floor.

Ryan rushed in minutes later and came to her side, kissing her forehead and hugging her close to him. Keats began to push him away reluctantly. She needed to say what she absolutely had to say.

"I lost the baby." She said quietly. She said it with guilt in her voice, waiting for Ryan's reaction. Ryan's eyebrows furrowed together. He looked angry, and Keats figured he was angry with her for letting it happen.

"I know it's my fault. I wasn't taking it easy like I should have, and I hardly ate." Keats added. Ryan glanced up at her furiously.

"Don't say that. This isn't your fault. This is my fault for putting the unnecessary stress on you." Ryan admitted. He looked almost broken. Keats was immediately taken by his sorrow and knew at once that she was wrong about him.

"Look, maybe this is all happening for a reason. Maybe we're not ready to be parents yet." She said, taking a breath before she went on.

"Maybe we're not ready to get married, either." Keats continued. Ryan shook his head.

"Keats-"

"No, Ryan. Ever since we've been together it's been one thing after another. You breaking up with me, me breaking up with you, our jobs and responsibilities, Berkeley, Morgan, Cooper, everything! Obviously we're not supposed to be together."

"I don't believe that." Ryan said, his voice low and pained.

"If we stay together, something else will happen. Some higher power doesn't think too highly of us being together. I hate to sound cliché, but maybe it's fate. People who are in love don't always have these awful problems like we have. Why is it so hard to love you?" She asked. She was crying openly, wanting to hold him, but not letting herself.

Ryan stood next to her, extremely wounded that she was already willing to give up after all they'd been through. He wanted to think of something that would convince her they were worth fighting for, but the shock of losing the baby and the shock of losing Keats proved to be too much for him.

"I've never loved anyone like I've loved you. Morgan was nothing to me compared to you. I'm so seriously in love with you it's all I think about. But I've never been so hurt and I've never felt so much pain in my life. I can't do it. I'm exhausted."

"This is what you want? How can I be sure it's really you talking and not the grief?" Ryan asked.

"All the stuff I'm telling you…it's stuff that I've been thinking about on and off ever since I met you. Our love is too dramatic and unstable. It hurts me to be with you. I can't handle it. But I want you to find someone who can. Someone who's willing to go through fire for you." Keats said, her eyes flooding over.

"You would. I know you would." Ryan said. Keats shook her head and bit her lip.

"Not anymore." She said with finality. She refused to look him in the face because she was ashamed. She was doing a horrible thing to him and she deserved no mercy.

Silently, she took the engagement ring off her finger and handed it to Ryan feeling about as low and scummy as she'd ever felt in her life.

Ryan grit his teeth. He had so many things he wanted to say but he couldn't find the appropriate words. She was being stupid and he wanted to set her straight. But unfortunately, his emotions began to take over.

She didn't want him anymore, and that hurt like hell.

"Fine. I'll find a place to stay while you move out." He said, his face as blank as stone. He grabbed the ring from her trembling fingers, putting it in his pocket. He then turned and left the room as casual as if nothing had happened. Now it was Keats turn to be incredibly hurt.

_You're afraid, Keats. You always have been. And it looks like now you always will be. You don't deserve Ryan. You're a quitter._

A part of Keats wanted to call Ryan back and say she'd changed her mind, but it killed her to realize that the damage had already been done. Permanently.

_Pain is life, Keats. Most people don't feel pain like you because they don't love as strongly as you do. And now you've screwed yourself up for good._

Keats leaned back on the bed and pulled the covers over herself, hiding her face. She was crying hard now, and she hated to cry like that. Crying so hard that your face swelled up and turned red and your nose began to run and your eyes hurt.

But for Keats, it was the least punishment she could hope to deserve.


	19. Goldilocks?

**Six Months Later**

Keats stared out the window of her apartment overlooking part of Miami Beach. It was a beautiful apartment that she'd bought from Glenn after he decided to move back to Sarasota.

Kiddo was yowling on the floor with a rubber candy cane and Keats actually smiled. It was always a struggle to be able to smile again after her life had nearly ended several months ago. Kiddo was a deaf boxer puppy who was white all over except for a brown patch on his right eye and brown spots on his ears.

Kiddo melted her heart time and again and he reminded her that she was still alive and she was still capable of love. Sloane hadn't talked to her much since the incident, citing that she was an icy person incapable of human feelings. And for a while, Keats thought she was right.

"Am I an ogre, Kiddo Puppy?" Keats said, kneeling on the ground and pulling the candy cane, teasing him with the toy. She felt mildly foolish for talking to a deaf dog, but she still felt better that someone was listening, even if he couldn't hear.

Keats had gotten her old job back after she admitted that there was nothing going on between her and Ryan. After about a month of seeing Ryan so close and knowing he probably hated her, she put in for a transfer.

And now, instead of being in the Lab, she was now in the field, where she should have been in the first place. Instead of CSI Remington, she was now simply Detective Remington. Even though it didn't sound quite as good, Keats was relieved to rid herself of any traces of her past happy life.

Keats was also rising quickly in her department, already a detective in the homicide division like Tripp. Tripp was her superior, and he was spending as much time with her now as Horatio had in the past. She barely saw Horatio anymore, as a point of fact. Or anyone else in the Lab for that matter.

Keats had convinced herself that it was for the best.

There was one thing, however, that Keats had not intended on when she applied for her transfer. Jake Berkeley had been fully exonerated and given his old job back and he saw as much of Keats as Tripp did. He was as irritating as ever and seemed to remember Keats fondly.

Keats had also undergone a few physical changes as well. She was in shape, for one thing. Not that she had been in bad shape before, but now she was muscular and trim so that she could chase down perps with the greatest of ease. It didn't require much strength to conduct tests and file reports, but now that Keats was really involved in her job, she was loving it. She realized she wasn't as much of a Lab Rat as the others had been.

Keats had also dyed her hair honey blond.

The blond hair came about in the last month when she was finally ready to pick up the pieces of her life and move on. When she'd broken up with Morgan, she'd chopped all her hair off. It was about evolving her appearance. And it was a long time before she was ready to do it.

She had cried in the barber's chair, and her hairstylist was extremely concerned, but Keats assured her she wanted her hair blond.

Sloane had taken one look at her and nearly passed out. Keats was amused to get such a strong response, especially since her sister had stopped dying her hair platinum blond and was now going back to their natural hair color.

'Little Red is now Goldilocks,' she said to herself with a chuckle as she admired her hair again in the bathroom mirror. The Big Bad Wolfe was gone, and he'd bother her no more. Keats brushed the tears from her eyes.

--

Wolfe sighed and slammed his pen down on the desk. He was filing reports today and he'd come across a few files concerning Keats' ex-boyfriend, Morgan. He'd been instructed not to leave town, but of course he did anyway, even though he wasn't the prime suspect anymore.

The case was now cold and had been for five months. But every once in a while, a case would pop up and so would Morgan's name. And whenever Morgan was mentioned, Ryan inevitably thought of Keats.

She was like a ghost in his life. He hadn't seen her for nearly five months, but she had never really left his mind.

Ryan's cell vibrated and he dug it out of his pocket begrudgingly. He checked the name on his phone. It was Olivia.

Olivia DeLuca was a ravishing stunner from his building who had just moved in a few weeks before, calling on Ryan to help her move. Ryan obliged and before he knew it, she had invited him in for a beer.

After three beers, he was making out with her on her new couch and feeling very disgusted with himself because of it. He had left like a gentleman, and Olivia was very impressed with him because of it. They had been seeing each other ever since. But he had yet to sleep with her.

"Olivia. Hey." He said, checking his watch to see when he could get off work.

"I miss you, baby. Come over to my place tonight?" Olivia asked. Ryan suddenly recalled Keats and how she hardly ever called him baby except when she was goofing around. Ryan shook his head.

"Sure. You want me to bring dinner?" He asked.

"No, sweetie. I've decided to make dinner for us tonight. Is that okay?" She asked. She was a nice girl. But she was no Keats.

"I'll be there around eight." He said. Delko walked into the Lab with a stack of photos from the latest crime scene and raised his eyebrows at Wolfe.

Ryan hung up with a mortified expression on his face and began going through the photos.

"Hot date with Miss Olivia?" Eric Delko said mischievously. Wolfe glared at him and it struck Delko how guilty he looked whenever Olivia was mentioned. Like he was cheating on Keats. Eric didn't pretend to understand what that whole mess was about.

"What's the latest?" Ryan asked. Delko nodded and they set to work.

--

"You remember this asshole, right?" Jake Berkeley tossed a snapshot of Morgan Flannery across Keats' desk. Keats glanced at it with a marked weariness.

"So?" She asked. Berkeley sat across from her and hiked one leg over the opposite knee.

"Well, if you have a vested interest in this guy, I'm supposed to take him off your hands."

"How sweet. You think I give a rat's ass." Keats snapped, returning to her paperwork.

"An ex lover?" Berkeley pressed. Keats looked up again and rolled her eyes.

"Not that it's any of your business, but Morgan and I were never lovers. Take him off my hands, if you want. I don't care." Keats replied, once again returning to her work.

"Well, I'd be willing to let you help me…" Jake began, a smile forming.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Berkeley. What do you want? Sex? It's no use, Berkeley. I think I'm frigid."

"Cute, but no. How about just dinner? Maybe a movie." Jake grinned at her, but it dawned on Keats that, although Berkeley was annoying, he wasn't as vicious as he'd once been. She suddenly became even more suspicious.

"Sorry, Berkeley. When the rules say no fraternizing, they mean it." Keats said, never looking up from her papers. Her reading glasses were perched on the tip of her pert nose and Berkeley leaned a bit closer to push them up.

"How long _has_ it been since you've had sex, Remington?" He asked when Keats was suitably flustered. Keats grumbled and returned to her work. Jake loved it when he was able to get a rise out of her. It made the whole day so much better.

"So meet me out front in twenty. We've got a lead on Flannery." Berkeley said as he breezed out of her office.

Keats let her head drop onto her desk and she moaned in frustration.

Within the allotted twenty minutes, Keats got into Berkeley's SUV and together they went to a certain storage building near the docks where they'd gotten leads on Morgan's whereabouts.

"What all has he gotten himself into?" Keats wondered. She hadn't been briefed, after all.

"Morgan? The guy is dirty. We just need proof that he's using these warehouses to store stolen weapons."

"Like nuclear warheads? Missile silos?" Keats began sarcastically.

"AK 47's. MP 100's. Basically anything you've ever seen from a Resident Evil game." Jake joked. Keats could barely hide a smile.

They parked outside the dock and approached the warehouse cautiously, their guns at the ready.

"You remember that time when you helped me? When we got shot by that suspect?" Berkeley began, reminiscing about their old antics.

"This isn't exactly the time for a stroll down memory lane." Keats whispered harshly, her back against the wall of the warehouse. Jake immediately quieted himself and got on the opposite side of the warehouse door. Berkeley opened the doors cautiously and went in ahead of Keats, surveying the area with his gun.

It was completely empty. Absolutely, positively empty.

"Are you sure this was the right unit?" Keats wondered. Berkeley gave an embarrassed chuckle, wanting to save face but not knowing how.

"Wait a second…this _is_ the right place. Damn. He's cleaned it out already." Berkeley mumbled to himself. Keats gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"No worries, bro. If I know Morgan, he always comes back. And I mean always." Keats said with a smile.

"So, coffee?" Berkeley asked. Keats smacked him on the back of the head.

--

Olivia lit one heart-shaped candle in the center of the table and admired her culinary handiwork. Whatever silly girl had broken Ryan's heart, Olivia was sure that she had not done this. Olivia straightened the tablecloth proudly and sat down to wait for her man.

"Whoa…" Ryan blurted out, coming through the door. Olivia had already given him her key.

"Welcome home, baby." She rose and clasped her arms around him, kissing him senseless. There was something she wanted badly tonight, and she knew he wanted it too.

Ryan pulled away and gestured toward the table.

"Everything looks great. I'm starving." He said, sitting down. Olivia was mildly irritated that he seemed to be avoiding the physical aspects of their relationship. And even some of the emotional ones too. _His last girlfriend really did a number on him._

In truth, she knew very little about the woman who was almost Mrs. Wolfe. But she really wished she did so that she could make herself as different as possible, and therefore, more appealing. She was desperate for Ryan to forget her. Her own biological clock was ticking, and she knew Ryan was the right type of guy.

"This is great." Ryan said, tasting her Chicken Parmesan. She was a much better cook than Keats. _Damn. Stop thinking about her._

"You really think so?" Olivia asked, pouring a bit of red wine into two glasses. She debated spiking his glass because she guessed that he might not want to make love to her, but she decided that she could rely on her sultry good looks.

"I might have to leave right after dinner. I'm still working on that case." Ryan added, digging into his potatoes au gratin. Olivia scowled and returned to the kitchen to pour Everclear in his glass of wine.

"Olivia?" He called. Olivia returned shortly with two identical glasses of wine. Ryan took one and began to drink, calling it a perfect complement to the chicken.

"It should be." Olivia muttered. After another glass and a half, Ryan was suitably drunk. Olivia carried him over to the couch and leaned on him, drinking in his aftershave and cologne. She kissed him sensually on the mouth and hoped he'd sober up enough to return her advances.

Seducing Ryan Wolfe was a lot harder than she imagined.

Suddenly, Ryan's wallet fell out of his pocket. Olivia picked it up and was going to put it back in his pocket when she caught sight of a dog-eared picture. It had seen better days, but so had their relationship. It was a picture of Ryan and a cute red-headed girl with a bright smile.

They were at the beach, the sunset in the background. Ryan's arms were around her and she was obviously enraptured. She looked quite young and weird. Like a nerd. So what if she was cute? She was obviously the last thing Ryan needed in his life anymore.

Olivia, thinking of Ryan and the pain he was still going through, took the picture and returned the wallet to his pocket. Without even hesitating, Olivia tore the picture and threw the pieces into the trash can.


	20. Sadder But Wiser Girl

Keats was asleep in her bed, snuggling next to Kiddo and enjoying a night without dreams of Ryan. She absolutely hated to wake up in the morning after a dream in which she and Ryan made up. The reality was horrible enough, but after a taste of paradise, reality was HELL.

Her phone rang in the middle of the night and she started out of bed. She groaned and reached over to answer it, trying her best not to wake Kiddo.

"Remington." Keats said, trying not to yawn too loudly.

"Kit. Love of my life. I heard you were putting feelers out about finding me."

"Morgan?" Keats sputtered. She got out of bed and turned on the light, writing down the number on her caller ID.

"Look, I still like you after all these years. You were my favorite mistake. I'm calling to tell you to back off."

"Why? It's my job." Keats said, pulling her tracing equipment out of the nightstand. She hooked it up to the landline and focused on trying to keep Morgan on the phone.

"If you keep hounding me, some of my associates are going to take it personally. Trust me, Keats. You're better off sticking your nose in somebody else's business."

"Morgan, why have you gotten yourself involved with people like that? What's happened to you?" Keats asked, horrified.

"Just keep away from me. If they see you looking for me, you might as well pick out the lining of your coffin."

"You always knew how to throw around an attractive sentence." Keats said, her nose wrinkling.

"You too, babe."

"Wait, Morgan, maybe you can help me?" Keats began. Morgan scoffed.

"I doubt it. My ass is grass for even calling you."

"Please, Morgan. Just tell me who I'm up against." Keats persisted. Morgan gave a growl.

"No, no, no! I called you to get you out of the way…with you still alive. If my boys want to get you out of the way, their methods will be a lot meaner. Trust me, Kit Kat. Bow out while you're still breathing."

"I'm sorry, Morgan. I'm just going to keep sticking my nose in until I'm dead. Tell that to your boys." Keats said, hanging up. She had traced his call to one of the payphones near the dock.

Keats picked up the phone again and dialed Detective Berkeley.

--

"Morning, sunshine." Olivia cooed, handing Ryan a fresh cup of coffee. He found himself lying on her couch and he immediately regretted drinking so much. He wondered if she would think any less of him.

"God, my head!" Ryan muttered. He checked his watch and groaned.

"Shit. I still have so much work to do…" Ryan began, brushing Olivia aside as he put on his suit jacket. The only drawback of dating someone outside the P.D. was that they could never understand how important work was.

Keats had understood that and had even matched his vigor. He had always worried that he'd never find a woman who respected the fact that he _was_ the job. He'd loved the fact that Keats was practically more the job than he was.

He kicked himself again for thinking of her, especially so early in the morning with a horrendous hangover.

"But Ryan, you just got up. Don't you think you need some more time to sleep it off?" Olivia asked. Ryan ignored her and went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. He certainly looked like hammered shit.

"I've got to go. I'll call you tonight." Ryan said, kissing Olivia on the cheek. Olivia held onto him, not letting go.

"At least let me drive you?" Olivia asked.

Ryan pulled up at M.D.P.D. in Olivia's cute little Nissan Sentra. It might as well have been pink. Ryan was embarrassed to show his face around the lab now that everyone knew his new girlfriend was giving him rides to work.

_New girlfriend…I guess she is. Funny._

Calleigh Duquesne met him inside the door with a knowing smile.

"Is she broken in, yet?" She asked with a laugh. She caught on to Ryan's uncomfortable aura and guessed that Olivia wasn't quite with the program yet.

"The first and hopefully last time she'll want to do that." Ryan muttered.

"Well, I've got the perfect thing to take your mind off your domestic troubles. Morgan Flannery was traced back to the warehouses again with a telephone call. It's your turn to do field work."

"I thought cold cases were Natalia's." Ryan sighed.

"She's not here. And Delko pulled rank on you." Calleigh said, giving Ryan one more brilliant smile before walking away. Ryan knew this must be his lot in his life. To pick up his seniors' leftovers.

--

"He threatened your life and you're still out here? Go home, Keats." Berkeley said when Keats pulled up near Jake's SUV. She got out and slammed the door with smug defiance.

"Watch me. This is my case. You said so yesterday." Keats reminded him. Jake stopped her before she stepped any further onto the docks. He pointed behind him with his thumb.

"There are other reasons you probably don't want to be here." Jake said. Keats shook her head.

"Nothing could make me want to leave here. Not even my own impending death." Keats said dramatically. She shoved past him and strode toward the warehouses, suddenly seeing all sorts of cars parked in the parking lot. And one tell-tale CSI Hummer.

"Eeek!" Keats squealed, hiding behind Berkeley. Berkeley frowned.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to me." Jake said with an audible pout.

"Um, not. This is the first time you've actually been as good as your word." Keats said, still ducking and checking to make sure Ryan was nowhere nearby.

"He's in the warehouse. If you leave now, he'll never know you were here." Berkeley suggested. Keats groaned at her own childishness.

"This is crap. Why am I skittish about doing my own damn job? I should march straight up to him and…"

"And what? He's on his way over." Berkeley said. Keats shrieked and ran a few steps, losing her balance. She gave one final squeak and fell over the side, splashing into the ocean. Ryan Wolfe eventually reached Berkeley, pausing occasionally to glance over at the edge of the dock. He could have sworn…

"Nice to see you, Wolfe. How have you been lately?" Jake asked in his annoying, prying tone of voice.

"Fine. You? Kept your nose clean?"

"Absolutely. I heard you have a hot new girlfriend." Berkeley said. Keats was right behind him, peeking her head over the side and glaring at him. She threw a piece of shell at him and hissed.

"Maybe. Anyway, I guess we've got to work together on this. Flannery was originally my guy but now that he's a cold case, we've got to share. I hope you don't mind." Ryan said condescendingly. Berkeley nodded.

"No problems at all. Unless you have a problem." Jake began.

"I'll be all right." Ryan said. Berkeley shook his head with a laugh.

"Remington is my partner in this case. Wherever I go, she goes and vice versa. Is _that_ a problem?" Berkeley wondered. Ryan glanced around wondering where she was. He felt a certain jump at the sound of her name and a peculiar tightening in his chest.

"She's not with me now, but she will be later." Berkeley said. Ryan nodded, somewhat disappointed and somewhat relieved. He had no idea what to say to her. The past would probably swallow them alive.

"Great. It'll be nice to see her again. I've just finished making the rounds, but I'm coming back for lunch." Ryan said.

"We'll be here." Berkeley said, waving Ryan off. As soon as he was out of sight, Berkeley turned and kneeled, reaching a hand out to retrieve Keats from the ocean.

"Ugh." Keats sputtered. She collapsed on the dock and panted heavily.

"You're crazy."

"And you're an ass. What of it?" Keats replied when she caught her breath.

"If you get shot, don't come back to haunt me or anything. I was against your involvement with this in the first place." Berkeley said.

"That was unexpected. I thought you'd say something like, 'you're still not over that jerk, yet?'" Keats said, squeezing the ends of her long, blond hair. Berkeley grinned.

"You're not, are you? Do you want out now?" He asked.

"Yes, no…maybe. I don't know. I really want this case but I don't want to see Ryan again. It's hard enough having memories. If I see the real thing again, I might just do something rash. Hearing his voice and listening to him talk about his 'new girlfriend' was like a slap in the face." Keats replied.

She stood up and shook herself, trying to get dry.

"Better hurry home and change before he gets back. You don't want him to see you for the first time in months with you looking like a drowned water rat, hmm?" Berkeley asked. Keats snorted and shook her head.

"If he's going to be around, then I certainly don't want to be here." Keats said, brushing past him and straight into CSI Ryan Wolfe, who had been standing there an undisclosed amount of time. Keats gasped and stepped back.

"It's not like you to let personal matters interfere with the job, Keats." Ryan said, looking rather satisfied to have caught her off-guard. Keats wanted to die.

"When you put it that way, sure. Let's work together. Quickly." Keats scowled. She kept walking, fully intending on going home and changing. But obviously Ryan had other plans.

"Where are you going? I'm skipping lunch for this." Ryan called after her. Keats made a face and eventually turned around, her face pink with anger.

"Can't I change out of these wet clothes?" Keats asked. Ryan took off his suit jacket and handed it to her.

"Come on. We've got work to do." Ryan reminded her. Keats put on his jacket and sighed inwardly.

Ryan set to work getting prints from the payphone Morgan had used to call Keats while Keats and Berkeley questioned all the locals and any other witnesses at the scene.

Despite the blistering winter heat, Keats was still shivering inside Ryan's jacket. While questioning, she often let her gaze wander to the rafters above the warehouses. She wondered idly if a sniper was hiding above one of them at this very moment.

Keats saw a glint of something reflected off the rafters and she pulled her gun out immediately, waiting for her eyes to better confirm the strange glint. Berkeley leaned over to her.

"The linings on the roof are metal. They reflect light, dumbass." Berkeley whispered to her. Keats felt her cheeks change color again. She returned her weapon to its special holster on her hip.

"Can we talk?" Ryan had come up behind her and scared her out of her wits, more because of what he said than anything. _Talk? Noooooo…_

"Fine." Keats said, following him to his Hummer. He turned around and glanced at her confidently, giving her the very same charming smile that still made her weak in the knees.

"Since we're working together, there's no reason why we shouldn't be friends. We were friends before we were lovers, anyway." Ryan said. Keats winced at the mere mention of the word 'lover.'

"So you're saying I should be nicer to you." Keats interjected. Ryan laughed and nodded.

"This whole friendliness thing isn't like you." Keats said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Because then I was jealous. Now I'm not." Ryan supplied. Keats felt her stomach do a flip and she immediately wanted to lurch.

"I'm glad you're…over me." Keats had trouble even saying the painful words. Ryan gave her a genuine smile and Keats knew then and there that she could never be Ryan's friend without wanting more.

But being close to him for any amount of time was worth it, Keats decided. She was willing to go along with the charade. She'd be his friend and pretend that was all she wanted.

"Yeah. Me too. It was hard for a while, but I decided you were right after all. Being with Olivia is a lot easier." Ryan said with a tinge of bitterness. He hadn't meant to say those things. Keats could feel bile rising in her throat, but she gave a gracious, friendly smile.

"I'm glad. It makes me feel better to know that you're doing well." Keats admitted, only being half-truthful. She took off his jacket and handed it to him, giving him a grateful smile.

"Thanks for the jacket." She said. She watched him get into his vehicle and leave, wondering if it would always be so painful every time she saw him. Time had been good to him, she decided. He looked healthier and more gorgeous.

She simply accepted this as another one of her punishments for breaking his heart.

"Where did your boyfriend go?" Berkeley asked. Keats snarled and shook her head.

"Say that again and I'll deck you. He went to the Lab to put the prints through the database. We should have Morgan at the station for questioning later this afternoon." Keats said.

--

Ryan drove away from the docks in his Hummer, his own heart still humming from the recent encounter with Keats. His Keats.

She looked beautiful. Not just healthier. The whole 'sadder-but-wiser-girl' mentality did wonders for her. She looked tranquil and content. It was all he could do not to push her against his car and kiss her hard.

Olivia was swell, but she was just a distraction. Nothing more. Speaking of Olivia…

"Baby, I thought I was going to come get you." Olivia said, pouting over the phone.

"I had Delko drive me over to my place so I could pick up the Hummer. I need it, Olivia. I'm out and about with my job. I can't just rely on you to take me everywhere." Ryan said.

"I guess you're right. Why don't you come over and we can watch a movie or something. I made popcorn." Olivia said excitedly. Ryan didn't want to say yes, but he didn't feel like explaining why he'd say no.

"I'll be there in less than an hour. Love you." He said. He immediately cringed. It was the way he'd address a little sister if he had one. He closed the phone and threw it into the passenger's seat beside him.

"Why is she blond now?" Ryan asked himself. If he knew Keats like he thought he knew her, she only made drastic changes in her appearance when she made drastic changes in her life. He knew the break-up must have been painful for her, and for the first time he made himself realize that.

It was so easy to get caught up in one's own pain. Ryan's only remaining question was why she broke up with him in the first place. It had to be more than 'oh, this is too hard for me.' Keats wasn't a whiny baby, and she wasn't really a quitter. Not like this.

"Morgan?" He mumbled to himself. It certainly made sense. She was probably trying to protect him. And it also lent credence to the fact that she was so dedicated to seeing him imprisoned.

"Gotcha, Keats." He said to himself. He suddenly changed directions and instead of going to his apartment to change, he decided to go back to work for a little overtime. He had to know if he was right.

--

"Why'd you break up with him in the first place? If you don't mind me asking." Jake Berkeley asked, sharing a pagoda of beef lo mein with Keats. Keats dropped her chopsticks and smacked Berkeley.

"You're getting a little too free about doing that, you know." Berkeley said. Keats shrugged. She picked up her chopsticks again and began shoveling the lo mein in her mouth.

"I had my reasons." She replied with her mouth full. Berkeley gave a nod.

"It makes sense. I mean, why would you want to stay with a great guy like Wolfe? Being happy is way overrated, you know?" Berkeley said sarcastically. Keats gave him a shocked and somewhat puzzled look.

"I liked you better when I hated you." She said. She settled back against the couch and wondered why she'd invited Jake Berkeley into her apartment. Alone.

Kiddo liked him immediately, but Keats wasn't at all surprised. Who else could relate to another dog better than another dog?

"I bet you're wondering why I'm here." Berkeley said, leaning back on the couch beside Keats. Keats blinked slowly, thinking him dense.

"I've decided to stay the night in case Flannery calls you again." Berkeley said with a grin. Keats laughed out loud, nearly snorting.

"The hell you are." She said suddenly turning serious. She folded her arms across her chest. She stood up and took the food, taking it to the kitchen and cleaning up. Berkeley followed her.

"What's your problem? At the risk of sounding like Don Corleone, it's not personal, it's business."

"The fact that you tried to assault me before makes it personal, don't you think?" Keats said. Berkeley sighed apologetically.

"That was a long time ago. I've learned my lesson." Berkeley said. Keats sighed and shook her head begrudgingly.

"I'm locking my door. You're parked on the sofa, pal. And don't try anything funny. Kiddo is vicious when he's protecting me." Keats said. She glanced over at Kiddo, who was ass-up in the couch digging for a Cheeto.

"Whatever you want. I expect you to let me in, thought, if you get a phone call." Berkeley said. Keats frowned.

"Fine, fine." She said with a dismissive wave. She plucked Kiddo from the couch and stalked off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

--

Morgan Flannery was a high profile guy. He was a freelance entrepreneur now that he had a history. An ex-banker with a good head for business and a penchant for getting in with all the wrong people. Or the right people, depending on how you look at it.

Ryan rubbed his lips and sighed, frustrating with himself for not being able to find out more about Morgan than that. It was stuff he had known already anyway.

"Working late? Is something wrong?" Natalia Boa Vista peeked her head around the door. Ryan turned to face her, shrugging his shoulders limply.

"Just closing up a few things before calling the suspect into custody." Ryan mumbled. Boa Vista nodded and waved, leaving him alone with his thoughts once again.

He had slept in his chair and as soon as he woke up, he checked his cell. He had nine missed calls, all of them from Olivia. He turned off his phone before she got the chance to call again.

"Morgan Flannery. Would have had you in yesterday, but you're a hard man to find." Wolfe said, entering the interrogation room with his files on Morgan.

Morgan stared ahead of him with a vapid expression on his face.

"You've amassed quite a list of felonies here. If you drop a few names, maybe we can work something out." Wolfe added. Morgan rolled his eyes.

Keats suddenly burst into the interrogation room, her long blond hair whipping behind her. She had looked good wet, but she looked even better dry. She turned to smile at him and he felt himself breathing heavier.

"Listen, Morgan. I need names and I need them now." Keats said, sitting on the edge of the table. She crossed her legs and glared at Morgan. Morgan gave a short laugh.

"What's this? Good cop, bad cop? I'm not talking." Morgan replied.

"Then how about we talk? Just the two of us. Off the record." Ryan offered. Keats gave and indignant squeak. Morgan nodded.

"Sounds all right. I don't know what you're expecting, but fine." Morgan said. Keats stood up and left in a huff, mildly annoyed at being kicked out by both her exes. It was humiliating.

Ryan eyed him with a smirk. He linked his hands together on top of the table.

"Are you making Keats give me up?" Ryan said in a low voice, leaning over to Morgan. Morgan seemed surprised.

"Is that what she told you?" He asked with a grin. Ryan glowered at him.

"She hasn't said anything. That's why I'm asking you."

"What's it to you?" Morgan said petulantly. He seemed to be enjoying the new line of questioning much better.

"Do you have something on me? I bet you do." Ryan spat. Morgan gave a little smile. A bemused smile that said he was definitely in the cat-bird seat, so-to-speak.

"Close, but no cigar. Think about it: if I had something on you, then I'd go straight to the source. Take another guess. But I doubt you'll figure it out."

"I'm through guessing. Tell me what you know or I'll make sure the D.A. throws the book at you." Ryan said, his temper flaring.

"If I go to jail, then I can't protect her anymore." Morgan admitted, casually raising his hands. Ryan froze.

"Who are you protecting her from?" He shot back. Morgan shook his head.

"Give me jail, buddy. But I'm not giving any names. That would sign my death warrant too." Morgan said, closing his lips and making a show of not opening them again. Ryan called in one of the officers to take him back into custody.

Keats came up to him in order to confront him, but when she saw the look on his face, she decided to approach him with caution.

"What was that about? I'm working on this case, too, you know." She said softly. Ryan placed a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder and felt an electric pulse run through him. He let his hand fall to his side.

"When were you going to tell me the truth about Morgan?" He asked, his determined eyes burning into Keats.

"What truth? You know as much as I know." Keats said uneasily. Ryan flushed with anger.

"Fine. Go ahead and protect him. See if I care." Ryan said, leaving Keats alone in the interrogation room.

"I'm protecting you, stupid." Keats whispered.


	21. Freshly Made Fugu

**I'm withholding chapters, you guys. I fully admit it, I need comments. How else can I know what works and what doesn't?**

Keats laid low in her car. She was at the warehouse that had once been empty during the daytime, but was now miraculously filled with boxes and several men handling said boxes. She pointed her camera and zoomed in as far as she could, snapping a picture as quietly as she could manage.

"Morgan, damn you." She whispered. Morgan's deal was something she could never talk about. She'd broken so many ties because of him just so she wouldn't have to lie. And it was so essential that she keep everything a secret.

She wanted to call backup desperately, but knew they'd be too late. As it was, she wasn't exactly supposed to be staking out the warehouse anyway. She'd be demoted before she'd get the chance to be a hero.

'Dare I go in?' Keats thought to herself. She was wrestling against the idea. She had tried to do the stupid but brave thing too many times and it had gotten her into more trouble than she could stand. But it seriously affected her to just walk away and let Morgan's boys get away with smuggling stolen weapons.

Weapons that they'd eventually use to stage coups and other scummy things.

Keats exited her car and carefully closed the door, feeling for the gun at her hip. As she extracted it from its holster, she felt a hand enclose over her arm. She immediately panicked and gave her unknown assailant a swift punch in the nose.

"Jeez, Keats." Ryan muttered under his breath, holding his nose with one hand.

"I'm so sorry. What are doing here?" Keats rasped, trying not to alert anyone else to their presence. They heard several shouts and before Keats could react, Ryan had grabbed her and dove under her car.

Keats was lying on top of Ryan, feeling his broad chest and his strong arms around her waist. She was overwhelmed by him. In an effort to save herself the pain of remembering how good it felt to be in his arms again, she got up. She leaned against the car and peered over the side, her weapon in hand.

"Keats…" Ryan began. Keats looked over at him questioningly.

"We're too late. Everyone's clearing out. And they're taking the stuff with 'em." Keats said with a sigh. Her window of opportunity to close this up had passed. Maybe it was fate that Ryan intervened. Otherwise, she probably would have gotten herself killed this time.

"Keats, look at me." Ryan said, taking her chin in his hand. She gazed into his beautiful brown eyes and was once again taken in.

"Don't. You just got through telling me how happy you are with Olivia." Keats said, pulling his hand away. It made her sick to do it, but damned if he wasn't making everything extremely hard on her.

"I know that Morgan leaned on you to break it off with me."

"What? That's ridiculous. I would never have let someone else make me break up with you." Keats said.

"Tell me the truth." He snapped. Keats was frightened. She just couldn't. It wouldn't change the past and it certainly wouldn't change things now.

"No. Don't you understand, Ryan? Remember when you told me about your mom? And the fact that you had no control over what happened? This situation is something neither of us have control over. Let it go." Keats said, rising to her feet.

She opened her car door and was about to get inside when Ryan stepped in front of her.

"I think you're lying. But don't worry, Keats. I believe in you. And I'm going to find a way for us to be together." He said, moving aside to let her past. He walked on toward the parking lot and Keats stared after him, bewildered.

--

Keats tossed and turned during the night. Morgan's words were always with her. She'd had a dream of that fateful day when she'd confronted him at his apartment.

"_He doesn't trust you. How can you love a guy like that?" Morgan asked. _

"_I don't know. But I trust him. I know things will be all right. I'm sure there's a good reason." Keats said somewhat lamely. Morgan laughed at her._

"_I think you underestimate the power that I have and what I could do to him." Morgan said._

"_Leave him alone. You're mad at me, not him." Keats tried to reason with him. Morgan was hardly finished throwing his weight around._

"_I don't want anything to happen to you, Keats. I think Ryan is bad news. I don't want you to see him anymore."_

"_I don't take orders from you, Morgan." Keats said._

"_You don't have a choice."_

He'd gone on to name drop. Erica Sykes was always looking for a good story, and bonus points if it was about an old flame. Ryan's career would be worthless after Morgan was finished with him.

Keats woke up drenched in a cold sweat. The horrors of that day were probably directly responsible for the loss of her baby. She'd ignored Morgan's warnings at first, thinking that Ryan's love for her would weather through anything.

But losing the baby made her lose faith in everything.

"Can't we just go back to the way things were? Why is everything so complicated?" Keats cried. Kiddo had woken up and was struggling to reach her face so that he could lick it dry. Keats laughed through her tears, but was only mildly comforted.

"I thought love could do anything. I thought love was all anyone really needed. How could I have been so freaking wrong?" Keats muttered, crying angry tears. Kiddo sensed her pain and yowled.

Keats matched his wails and the two of them howled into the night.

--

"Mr. Wolfe. I heard it was urgent. Is anything wrong?" Horatio Caine walked over to the water fountain in front of the M.D.P.D. where CSI Wolfe was waiting impatiently.

"H, it's Remington." Ryan began. Horatio gave a nod.

"I'm listening, Mr. Wolfe."

Keats had gone to work that morning with little fanfare. She hadn't experienced insomnia like that since she first broke up with Ryan. Her eyes were swollen, but she managed to cover up most of her splotchy face with makeup.

She got in her car with a weird sort of feeling, but continued to drive as though nothing was out of the ordinary. And for a while, nothing was.

Keats eventually looked over at her rearview mirror and saw a strange black car following her, tailgating her. Keats nervously sped up.

After turning onto the street where the Miami Dade Police Department was located, the car suddenly disappeared. Keats shook her head and wondered if she wasn't just overly stressed.

On her way to the parking lot, Keats noticed Ryan and Horatio talking together in front of the water fountain. It had been months since she'd seen Horatio. She'd desperately missed him.

"If she's in danger, Mr. Wolfe, then we need to make sure she's protected." Horatio said, putting his hands on his hips and smiling a knowing smile. Ryan nodded and knew what Horatio expected of him. And after being away from Keats for so long, it would certainly be his pleasure.

"Ugh." Keats said as she stepped out of her car. She had started crying again after seeing Horatio, and her nose was starting to run.

"Here." Ryan said, handing a handkerchief to Keats. Keats looked up at him and wanted to kill and kiss him at the same time.

"Why are you waiting here for me?" Keats asked, dabbing the hankie around her eyelids and then blowing her nose.

"Telepathy. I knew you were crying over me, so here I am." He said with charm. Keats laughed and shook her head.

"Some telepathy. I was actually realizing how much I missed Horatio and working at the Lab." Keats admitted.

"It's because of me. Don't deny it, Keats. You're just as in love with me now as you were half a year ago." Ryan said with a smile. Keats giggled.

Olivia DeLuca stood near the elevators on the ground floor of the parking deck. She noticed Ryan and was about to walk over to him and tell him that he'd left his Lab Pass over at her place, but she saw someone else standing beside him.

Her hair was different, but there could be no mistaking that it was Ryan's ex.

"I don't think anyone could be in love with you as much as you already are with yourself." Keats chuckled. Ryan noticed Olivia through his peripheral vision and immediately stiffened.

"I was just kidding, jeez. I laughed at _your _jokes." Keats said. Olivia wrapped her arms around Ryan in the next second and made a big show of kissing him right in front of Keats. Keats was stunned.

"Baby, you left a few things over at my place last night. I thought you might need them." Olivia slipped a few things into Ryan's pocket and whispered a few erotic nothings in his ear. Keats was livid.

Olivia smiled at Keats as though she were some pathetic little insect and she pushed her aside as she went back to the elevator. Keats turned on her heel as well, ignoring Ryan's protests.

--

"What have we here?" Horatio asked, examining a body that had just recently come ashore. Alexx shook her head and extracted most of the kelp and excess sea crap that had attached itself to his body.

"I'm not sure what killed him, but I can tell you he didn't drown. It was like he was dumped for convenience." Alexx said, looking for wounds and perforations but finding none.

"The body was identified by witnesses as Leroy Kramer. He was the Space Coordinator of these warehouses." Detective Tripp added, reading from his notepad.

"Space Coordinator? What the hell is that?" Alexx asked, finding the body absolutely unharmed from the outside.

"He arranged who rents what unit and when. He had every single key to every single lock in this compound." Tripp explained.

--

Keats pressed her hand against the glass as Morgan sat down across from her. She lifted the phone from its cradle and sat down to have a chat with her demented guardian angel.

"Did you come as a cop or as a visitor?" Morgan asked. Keats bit her lip.

"Visitor. I'm on my lunch break." She said. Morgan gave an accepting nod.

"I didn't tell him anything." She added. Morgan said nothing, but continued to stare at her.

"I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about you. If I'm in prison, then that means my boys will assume you know too much." Morgan said after a time. Keats gave a hearty smile.

"As long as Ryan's okay, then I'll be fine." She said. Morgan frowned heavily and knocked at the glass with his fist.

"Why are you acting like such a fool? If you just give me the word, I'll make sure he takes the heat for this instead of you." Morgan struggled not to yell. Keats shook her head vehemently.

"I know what I'm doing. Ryan has a life now. A life without me. I want to keep it that way." Keats said, replacing the phone in its handle. Morgan shouted after her that he wasn't finished. Keats had reaffirmed Ryan's safety, and that was all that mattered to her.

Keats walked out into the bright Miami sunshine, feeling wonderful and strangely content. It made her feel great to know that Ryan was going to be spared further pain at her expense. In some small way, she was trying to make amends for hurting him so badly before.

She began to cross the street over to the parking lot when she saw that same black car that had been following her earlier. It had just bound the corner and was approaching her fast.

"Shit." She mumbled, running as fast as possible just to make it to the parking lot. She had made it across the street safely, bounding into the parking lot in a panic. Her heart was beating abnormally fast, but she was also relieved.

She raced to her car and got in, backing up and pulling around to exit the Dade County Jail Parking Lot. As she turned a few corners, she noticed all of the gates were closed off. There didn't seem to be a way for her to leave.

"Don't panic…it's probably just closed for lunch…" Keats said to herself, dialing Jake Berkeley's cell phone number. He was her partner for the case and he was probably close by.

Keats glanced over in her side mirror and felt a jolt at seeing the ominous black car coming from her left. They were driving way too fast and showed no signs of slowing. She'd be sandwiched between the black car and the wall. She'd be dead.

Keats crept out her car from the passenger's side and kept on running, watching in horror as the black car swerved just before impact. The black car had changed direction and was now hot on her trail.

Up ahead, Keats could see the gap between the gate and the wall of the parking lot. A tiny little sliver of freedom. But if she had misjudged the width of the gap, then she'd be trapped like a raccoon.

Keats made a flying leap for the gap, squeezing and struggling against the wired fence. She finally eked through and tumbled across the street right into oncoming traffic. Keats felt too sore to move, but she rolled toward the gutter with one last burst of energy.

A sea of honks and screeches sounded all around her as she blacked out.

--

An EMT finished wrapping Keats' hand while she sat in the back of the ambulance, feeling uncomfortable for causing so much trouble. _Again_.

She'd been through much worse, so she was extremely grateful that a sprained wrist was her worst injury of late. She noticed Berkeley ducking into the ambulance holding up his phone with a smirk.

"If you were going to visit the guy, you should have had me come along." He said, hopping into the seat beside her. Keats rolled her eyes.

"Then I'd have had _you _to worry about, instead of just myself." Keats said somewhat grumpily. She was still extremely sore.

"But you're being followed." Berkeley added with more than a hint of concern.

"I'm taking care of it. As soon as this case is over I won't have to worry about it anymore." Keats shot back with defiance. She knew where Berkeley was headed.

"And if you die before it's over? What then?" Ryan Wolfe was standing in front of them with his arms crossed over his chest and a grim look on his face. Berkeley took this as his cue to leave. For once, Keats hated to see him go.

"Get bent, Wolfe. Mr. 'I left my boxers over at my girlfriend's place.' God, you make me sick. You're playing us both at the same time. If I don't work out, you'll have Olivia to crawl back to?" Keats sniped, exiting the ambulance and facing Wolfe with intense animosity.

"I guess I deserve that. Look, we'll talk about this later. I need to know everything about Morgan and the people he worked with." Ryan began, his tone insistent. Keats began to shrug but Ryan grabbed her shoulders and shook them.

"This isn't a game. I want you alive."

"I don't know anything, damn it!" Keats exclaimed, releasing herself from his grip. Whether or not Ryan believed her, he didn't say. He stopped asking her, though.

In truth, Keats didn't really know anything. All she knew was that she was under Morgan's mercy and that she'd had to give up Ryan for his own safety. And she could not under any circumstances tell him, or Ryan would be at Morgan's mercy as well.

"Why can't you just accept that I don't love you?" Keats said. She hoped her last attempt at keeping Ryan safe would work.

"Prove it." Ryan said, smiling wryly. Keats gave a gruff sigh.

"If you have any love left for me, then you'll let me go." Keats said. Ryan nodded, slightly miffed that she didn't believe he could save her. He decided to play along with her little lying game.

"All right. You win. Game over." Ryan said. Keats had expected him to fight a little. He knew she was lying, but he was probably tired of hearing the lies. In some strange damsel in distress kind of way, she hoped that he would be able to 'save her.'

"Did you get a license number on that black car?" Ryan asked, changing the subject.

"Nah. I was kind of busy running for my life." Keats said coldly.

--

"I've seen something like this before. But he rose from the dead, if you recall." Alexx told Ryan. They were in the autopsy room looking over Leroy's cadaver.

"Tetrodotoxin. It's over a thousand times more potent than cyanide. His killer was hell-bent on being extremely thorough." Alexx continued.

"Tetrodotoxin from a puffer fish?"

"It's a delicacy in Japan. But they have to be prepared carefully." Alexx added.

"Obviously. Cause of death?" Ryan asked, taking a photograph of the deceased.

"Ironically, suffocation. His diaphragm muscles were paralyzed. I'm guessing the person who prepared Leroy's last meal knew exactly what he was doing."

--

Keats knocked on the door with her left hand. Her right hand was out of commission for the next few weeks. _What a pain in the ass. Or wrist._

"Mrs. Kramer?" Keats asked as she saw a flicker of movement from inside the house. A tiny, frail little woman peeked around the door.

"Who are you?"

"Detective Remington. I'm here about your husband." Keats supplied, holding her badge up. The woman gave her a nasty glare.

"I've already spoken to several of you cops. I don't want to speak to any more." She said, slamming the door.

"I can get a warrant in five minutes, Mrs. Kramer. Make it easy on yourself and just let me in. It won't take long, I promise. And it could help me find your husband's murderer." Keats said.

After thirty seconds, Keats almost gave up. Mrs. Kramer then decided to open the door and let Keats inside.

"How can I help you find Roy's murderer?" Mrs. Kramer asked, settling on her couch like a frightened mouse. Keats glanced around the living room, noticing numerous pictures of fishing adventures and boating events. Leroy seemed to take to the water like a fish.

"Did he often eat lunch near the docks?" Keats wondered, admiring a spotted bass mounted across the mantle.

"He usually brings his lunch. I fix him a sub sandwich every day." Mrs. Kramer admitted. Keats shrugged her eyebrows.

"But he liked to eat fish."

"Yes. Sometimes. He only ate fish that he caught himself."

"Are you sure?" Keats asked, trying to link up every piece of the puzzle.

"Well…if it was imported, he ate that too."

"And yesterday. What did you make him for lunch?" Keats wondered.

"They already asked me that. I told them I fixed him a salad and a sandwich like always."

"Did you know he ate Fugu instead?" Keats asked, finally turning to face Mrs. Kramer.

"Fugu…how in heck would he get his hands on Fugu in Miami?"

"Exactly." Keats said.

Keats walked closer to Mrs. Kramer and sat down beside her on the couch, holding onto one of her hands with her uninjured wrist.

"Can you tell me a little about the people Mr. Kramer worked with?" Keats asked.

--

"All this stolen weapon crap and the whole Fugu death thing makes me think that the Yakuza must be in on this." Keats said to Berkeley.

They were on their way to the Crime Lab and Keats was incredibly nervous. It had been a long time. Keats dealt with the stress by cracking unfunny jokes.

"Why would the Japanese Mafia waste their time smuggling weapons over here? Don't they have better places to be?" Berkeley asked. Berkeley, Keats understood, was not very bright at all. Observant, but not bright.

"To kill us with their specialized dishes…I was kidding, Jake. It's a defense mechanism to hide my insecurities about coming back to the Lab." Keats explained. They were now in the elevator and Berkeley was giving her strange looks.

"Jake? You've never called me Jake before. Are growing fond of me?" Berkeley asked, driving Keats crazy with his obscenely insincere smile. Keats made an ugly face.

"No. In fact, it's more a lack of respect. I consider you the younger brother I never had and never really wanted." Keats snapped.

"Ouch. I'll let it slide right now, but don't talk to me that way in front of other people, 'kay? They'll think we're in love."

Keats stifled a laugh and the door elevators opened. Keats remembered the last day she spent in the Lab before her transfer. It was a sad, depressing day. She'd said goodbye to everything down to the plastic partition in the hallway.

And here it was, just as she'd left it. Nothing had changed. Not really.


	22. A Good Friend Is Hard To Find

"June. Baby, I've missed you." Alexx said, hugging Keats close. It was wonderful to be back. Back to visit, of course, but not _back_ back.

Keats shared a mini-reunion with the Lab, managing to hug and chat with just about everyone. Everyone except Ryan and Horatio.

"You look good. I'm surprised you're still single." Delko had said. However, he was the first one to admit that he liked her better as a redhead.

"It matches your temper." Valera said with a grin. Keats laughed.

"I think it's hot." Cooper said, giving Keats the impression that he was ready to reconcile with her and be friends again. Keats gave him a thankful smile.

"Horatio just went to take care of something. But he should be back in an hour or so." Natalia added, noticing how Keats was glancing around forlornly.

"I swear you have ESPN. You read my mind." Keats laughed. She had just realized that Jake had disappeared and had probably done so on purpose. He really wasn't well-liked by the Crime Lab.

"We heard you got caught in traffic. Literally." Delko added. Keats looked at her wrist and grinned sheepishly.

"I'm a lot better at avoiding scrapes now than I used to be. A year ago I would have become a pancake." Keats said.

"Remington. Can I speak to you a minute in private?" Detective Tripp interrupted Keats' attempt at a reunion with her former colleagues with a quick hand motion. Keats let herself be pulled to the side and braced herself for bad news.

If Tripp used formalities, it usually wasn't a very good sign.

"First of all, why wasn't I notified of your former association with suspect Morgan Flannery?" Tripp asked with a bit of bark in his voice. Keats was taken aback.

"I apologize if I misled you, but I did make it quite clear that I wasn't biased in any way." Keats defended herself. Tripp scoffed slightly.

"That doesn't matter, Remington. You have a responsibility to bow out when there's the slightest possibility of anyone questioning your protocol." Frank gave her a fatherly frown, his brows set sternly.

"I guess that means I'm off the case." Keats offered before he officially said it. Tripp nodded.

"That's putting it mildly. The repercussions of this might extend to Morgan's trial. If your involvement affects his sentencing, I might just demote you." Tripp said, leaving in the next beat. Keats stared after him with a wounded look.

It was her fault, definitely. And she wasn't quite surprised. So she didn't really deserve to be upset about it.

Berkeley had been watching from the sidelines and shook his head, realizing that his part in the deception would not go unnoticed.

"Do you think I should 'bow out' too? It's only fair. I dangled this carrot of a case in front of you." Jake chuckled good-naturedly. Keats shrugged.

"Let's focus on something else. We'll do it together. We'll be like Cagney and Lacey. Only…I'm a dude." Jake said, wincing at the inherent lameness of his statement. Keats finally let herself laugh.

"How about Crockett and Tubbs from Miami Vice? But you get to be Don Johnson." Keats said, rolling up her sleeves with a giggle.

--

_Another week later…_

Keats sat in a smoky bar with a lit cigarette dangling from her bright red mouth. She was waiting for someone important. She hoped everything would go off without a hitch. But, as she was reminded time and again, things almost never went according to plan. Improvisational skills were a must.

_Too bad I'm shit at improv._

Keats sipped her scotch and soda (nearly gagging in the process) and tried to look coy and sexy. It wasn't easy. When God was handing out sex appeal, he must have given it all to Joan Collins.

"Deena? I kind of assumed you would be late." A voice rang out behind her. Keats turned to see Big Sal, her new supplier, and gave him a big hug, making sure he sat down beside her. Big Sal was an understatement. He owned a Carpet Warehouse in Greater Miami and was Italian, and happened to be a Behemoth.

"Let me buy you a beer, Sally. In honor of our newfound partnership." Keats said, motioning to the bartender guy. Her manner was brassy and Keats was horrified to discover that it was much easier than she thought.

Big Sal chuckled and let Keats order a drink for him. He took whatever she gave him and he drank it down immediately.

"So…big date tonight?" Sal wondered. Keats knitted her brows together.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Big Sal grinned at her and pointed to her low-cut red dress.

"Don't tell me you got all dressed up for just me?" Sal teased. Keats laughed uncomfortably. She was dying to ask him where the drugs were, but she knew he'd have to be loaded in order to respond without suspicion.

"No date. But can't I dress like I feel without it having to be for a man?" Keats replied tartly. Big Sal gave a Big Laugh.

"If I had a daughter, she'd probably be like you, kid." Sal said. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, Keats couldn't discern. She hoped it was the former.

"Cheers." Keats said, encouraging Big Sal to drink and drink some more. If Keats had been the slightest bit more prepared, she would have anticipated that Sal was a much more experienced drinker. Keats had the alcohol tolerance of a five-year-old.

"I think you've had enough, Sweetie." Big Sal said with a laugh after Keats had downed her fourth scotch and soda. Big Sal was slightly buzzed, but Keats was pretty much smashed.

"Nonsense, Sally. Life is for the living, eh? I'm trying to live. By the way, do you have any single sons lying around?" Keats murmured, munching on some peanuts.

Jake was sitting in his SUV outside of the bar with his sound equipment. He smacked himself in the forehead when he realized Keats was drunk. She was liable to blow the whole deal. It wasn't like he could just stride into the bar and rescue her. Or could he?

"Are you sure you're not here for a date?" Big Sal asked, thinking that perhaps Keats, or Deena, was simply drowning her sorrows at being stood-up.

"I'm a professional, dammit. I wouldn't schedule a date when I'm supposed to meet you, Sal." Keats said, sitting up straight. She was a ridiculous drunk, and in some weird way, she knew exactly what to say and what not to say. But whenever she was drunk, she didn't really care.

"Okay. I believe you. It just seems odd. People either drink because they want to forget something or they want other people to remember…" Big Sal began. Keats knew the moment had come. Big Sal was big time suspicious.

And almost as if Jake had walked on to the set of a 1970s sitcom, he came up behind Keats and quite literally saved her ass. She had fallen off her barstool.

"Sorry I'm late, babe. I promise it won't happen again." Berkeley said, eyeing Big Sal.

"I hope she wasn't too upset." Jake began. Big Sal stood up and shook his head.

"She'll be fine now that you're here. Tell her I'll call her tomorrow." Big Sal said, looking over at Keats sympathetically. Keats gave a rather unladylike burp.

"Will do." Jake said, feeling extremely relieved. Keats had again escaped the clutches of death. In situations like these, she always seemed to have the luck of the draw. Or maybe she just always happened to have a few good friends around to help her out.

"I feel…bad." Keats said, her eyes beginning to roll back in her head. The Bartender made eye contact with Jake and gave a nod. No doubt he'd seen his share of junk. With a heavy sigh, Jake slung Keats over his shoulder and wondered how he'd tell Keats that her bar tab would not be picked up by the State.

He took her out of the front seat of his SUV and carried her on his back all the way up to her apartment. He reached into her purse for her keys and unlocked the door, encountering little Kiddo as soon as they were inside. Kiddo cocked his head to the side and went back into the bedroom. Jake gave a slight laugh.

"Leave it to the weirdest girl in the precinct to have the weirdest dog." He mumbled to himself. He placed Keats on the couch and debated leaving her alone. Suppose she threw up during the night and choked on her own vomit? He'd never forgive himself if she died such an ugly death. Forget about the fact that she'd be dead period.

"Why are you so much trouble? And why don't I care?" Berkeley said, grabbing a comforter from one of the closets and putting it over Keats, tucking her in. He placed a garbage can beside her and sat on the couch next to her, laying her feet across his lap.

"Ah…we should date, Remington. Otherwise, you'll have to take lots of time explaining to the neighbors how you're not 'that kind of girl.'" Jake Berkeley chuckled. Keats stirred.

"I love you." She said, her words slightly slurred. She sat up and leaned over to hug Berkeley, arms looped around his neck. She held him tight and sighed. Jake was in a state of severe shock.

"Don't leave me. I don't want to live without you anymore." Keats said pitifully. It occurred to Berkeley that she must have been talking about Ryan. It could only be Ryan. He certainly didn't know what that whole mess was about, but he didn't want to open a new can of worms to find out.

"Why are you acting like you don't love me?" Berkeley said, trying to make his voice sound like Ryan's. It was easy. Berkeley just had to pretend he was constipated.

"I had to. Morgan was going to hurt you. I couldn't let him hurt you or your career. Even though he's in prison…he can still hurt you." Keats said, laying back down and wiping the tears from her eyes.

Berkeley suddenly understood what was keeping them apart. It was all so simple, and yet it wasn't. But one thing was certain: it happened to the wrong person. If anyone deserved misery, it was probably Berkeley. He'd already done his worst to make Keats unhappy a long time ago.

He'd even asked to be her partner so he could prove to Keats that he was different now. And he _was_ different. He wanted to beg her forgiveness when she had warmed up to him enough. But he was always afraid she would ask him why.

Berkeley didn't know whether he loved Keats or whether just by knowing an amazing person he was suddenly transformed.

It certainly sounded stupid in his own head. It probably would sound even worse out loud.

Jake supposed this was probably his true test of character. He could explain to Ryan and advise Keats to confess everything…or he could deliberately split them up. It would have been so easy. Keats was drunk and Jake was over at her place late. The slightest coercion in the wrong direction could have Ryan swimming in jealousy.

Had Jake really changed? Or was it just wishful thinking? He wondered it himself as he glanced over at Keats, who had since fallen asleep. Since when had he gotten so much power in her life? He realized how hard up she must have been for a friend.


	23. Typical Ryan

Keats bit her lip. She was waiting at the very same pizza place where she and Ryan had shared their first "date." After a heart-to-heart with Jake, who reluctantly but rightfully pointed out that even her subconscious was still in love with Ryan, Keats made up her mind to tell Ryan everything.

It was what she should have done in the first place. And, as Ryan proclaimed on so many occasions, he was a big boy and could take care of himself. Keats just hoped he was right.

Ryan stopped in front of the clear doorway of the pizza place, some Pizza Hut knockoff not far from the Lab, just standing and staring. Keats had called him and promised to explain everything to him. She sounded pained, and her voice had caused him to break inside.

Never in his life had a girl made him feel so much. Keats had turned his normal, easy-going life into an emotional, tumultuous wreck. But he had to admit, he loved it. Especially considering how much he had gained in the process. No one on earth knew him as well as she did.

Ryan approached the table with a weary smile, wondering if this was the final nail in the coffin, or a wonderful new beginning.

Keats looked up and felt her stomach jump around and realized that if things didn't work out between them, that there would be no others. Ryan was the one, and time had proved that to her again and again. She felt the same way about him as she did when they first went out.

"So you're finally going to admit you know something?" Ryan said, sitting across from her at the booth. Keats' eyes flashed peculiarly.

"Are you here as my ex-colleague or my ex-boyfriend?" She said with more than a hint of disappointment. It occurred to her that Ryan might only be there to catch Morgan and his cronies.

"What do you want me to be?" Ryan sat back, teasing her. Keats frowned.

"A lot of things. But I felt that I owed you an explanation, no matter how this mess turns out." Keats began. She sipped her soda nervously, feeling Ryan's eyes boring into her every move.

"What things? You want what we used to have?" Ryan asked. He was dead serious and he was also making Keats extremely anxious.

"Good. Because I want what we used to have."

"Will you let me finish what I wanted to tell you? After you find out, you might hate me." Keats exclaimed.

Ryan nodded, trying to appease her, knowing full well that she couldn't possibly make him hate her in a million years.

"You know, we really haven't gotten a chance to talk, actually. Ever since we've met up again it's been nothing but fighting." Keats said, wondering if she was only saying so to procrastinate.

"Are you asking for an update? It's a little late, don't you think?" Ryan asked, eyeing her somewhat critically. Keats shrugged.

"Fine. Olivia and I have been seeing each other for about two months." Ryan supplied, wondering if she'd get back on the subject of Morgan.

"Broken her in yet?" Keats snapped. She immediately regretted it and recognized that she wanted to hurt Ryan whenever he made her jealous.

"We haven't slept together, if that's what you're asking. I like Olivia, but I'm not in love with her." Ryan grinned. Keats wanted to slap the grin off his face.

"I meant…your problem. The one we had that huge fight over. Your eye, remember?" Keats asked, reaching out to touch his face. She stopped herself. It wasn't right to touch things that didn't belong to her.

"Oh, that. Yeah…I had the surgery a couple of weeks after…" Ryan trailed off, clearing his throat. Their waiter brought their pepperoni and cheese pizza at that very moment, saving them from an awkward pause.

"Anyway, it was successful. I'm fine now." Ryan mumbled, chewing on a slice. Keats nodded, internally thankful for his safety. She had worried herself a lot about his condition, especially since he'd never really confided in her about it.

"How about you? Changing your hair color…" Ryan began, tugging the ends of her long blond hair. Keats swatted his hands away and made frustrated little grunting noises.

"You don't think I did this because of _you_, did you? That's pretty egotistical. I always knew you were a pretentious little bastard." Keats said smugly, polishing off another breadstick.

"Then it's a good thing that we split before it got any more painful, right?" Ryan asked, baiting her. Keats was tired of all the finger pointing and name calling.

"I love you, and maybe I had a funny way of showing, but that doesn't take away the fact that what I did, I did for you." Keats shot, pitching a breadstick at him like a club.

Ryan caught the breadstick with a smile.

"Ditto." He said. He took a bite out of said breadstick and grinned. Keats didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"So now that we've got that out of the way, you should move back in with me. But first, tell me about Morgan." Ryan said, leaning forward with interest. Keats pursed her lips. _Typical Ryan._

"You just wanna know for the case. You're thinking maybe I can solve this for you with what I know. But if anyone's going to solve this case, it's going to be me, Ryan Wolfe!" Keats said, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't care if she was acting like a five-year-old.

"Cute. But you're working on a different case in a different department." Ryan said, drinking his soda with a smile. Keats would never change.

"Still, there's a lot I could bring to the case. So what if I know Morgan? That should only help things, you know?" Keats persevered. Ryan reached out and cleaned the pizza sauce off Keats' face with his napkin.

"How can I resist that face?" Ryan said, cupping Keats' chin. Keats glared him down.

"Stop treating me like a child, will you? You're only a few years older than me."

"Seven. That's actually pretty significant." Ryan added. When Keats was suitably hot and bothered, Ryan gave a sigh.

"But, I'm not opposed to working on the case together, behind-the-scenes. If you know what I mean." Ryan said. Keats cocked her head to the side, thinking.

"We could definitely help each other, no doubt about it. I have a case, too, ya know." Keats said, looking out into space. She finally focused her eyes back on Ryan and nodded.

"You've got yourself a deal." Keats patted Ryan on the shoulder and turned back to the pizza, her eyes glazed over with hunger.

"Hold on, what do you mean, deal? We don't have any terms. Let's discuss." Ryan said, determined to put this situation to his (and their) advantage.

"What, you mean like you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours?" Keats asked, not knowing where he was going with the 'terms.' She thought it was enough that they'd help each other out equally.

"I'll help you with your case, but I want you to do something for me…personally." Ryan said with a dash of sly. Keats caught on fast.

"Sexual favors? All right. Done. It has been awhile for the both of us, hasn't it?" Keats said with a laugh. Ryan shook his head.

"I haven't specified. But there's a favor I'm going to ask of you soon, but you have to promise to do it. No questions asked. Deal?" Ryan asked, his earnest eyes causing Keats to practically melt.

"I had no idea you were that kinky, but okay. So what do I get?" Keats wondered.

"Whatever you want." Ryan said. He wondered curiously what she would want.

"I want two things: I want Olivia gone, and I want us to be boyfriend and girlfriend again." Keats said, wondering if she was too greedy.

"Olivia's already gone. And if you tell me the truth about Morgan, then I guarantee to be your Prince Charming."

Keats gave a satisfied smile.

"That's all I wanted. Hey, can we go get ice cream? I've saved a separate stomach for dessert." Keats exclaimed, jumping from the booth and heading toward the cash register. Ryan smirked and followed behind her.


	24. Who's There?

Ice cream was no small to-do either. Keats wanted pistachio ice cream, and wouldn't you know, the nearest place that sold pistachio ice cream was half an hour away. Ryan was actually relieved to have an excuse to be alone with her for thirty more minutes.

"So what is this favor you want me to do? I'm so curious." Keats said, knowing full well that Ryan would never tell her until he meant to.

"Just something. Push it out of your mind for awhile. It'll drive you crazy otherwise." Ryan said. Keats shot him a mean look. It was one of those looks that people give when they know the other person is right but they don't care to admit it.

"It won't drive me crazy. See? I've already stopped caring." Keats said, looking out the window of Ryan's Hummer. It was nice to be able to sit in a familiar seat again. With familiar company.

"Don't pout, I was just trying to help." Ryan smirked. Keats heaved a sigh and pretended that things going on outside the car window were more important and interesting. But pretty soon, they actually were.

"Hey, Ryan? Is Delko off today?" Keats wondered. She sat back in her seat and wondered if she was going insane. Surely her eyes had been deceived. Delko…and Calleigh?

"Yeah. He hasn't had time off in several months. He's off today and tomorrow."

"Calleigh? Is Calleigh off today too?" Keats asked. Ryan shook his head.

"It's almost two in the afternoon. She's probably on lunch break." Ryan answered, glancing at his watch. Keats closed her eyes and tried to remember exactly what she saw for posterity.

Delko had his arms around a blonde woman of the same height and stature as Calleigh. She was even positioned in such a way that Keats saw a police badge on the woman's belt glistening in the sunlight. It might not have been Calleigh. There was a possibility.

"It had to be." Keats mumbled, squeezing her eyes tighter to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"What had to be?" Ryan asked. Keats opened her eyes and slunk down in her seat. Dare she ask?

"Are Delko and Boa Vista having…problems?" Keats countered. Ryan gave a slight shrug.

"I'm not really sure. I don't pay attention to that kind of thing much." Ryan rubbed the back of his neck and Keats instantly knew he was lying.

"You lousy douche cannon!" Keats said. Ryan blinked a few times, musing that although he'd been called a great many things as a cop, he'd never been called a douche cannon before.

"Ok, fine, so maybe they're not doing so well. I didn't think it was my business to tell you." Ryan explained.

"Oh. Well, anyway…I thought I saw…" Keats stopped herself and wondered if she was jumping to conclusions. It wouldn't have been the first time.

"Hmm?" Ryan asked, making a right turn into the parking lot of a local ice cream shop. Keats shook her head and was nearly consumed by her curiosity.

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"Yeah…so you and Berkeley have been spending a lot of time with each other." Ryan mentioned, combing into his Fudge Sundae.

"Oh, boy. Here we go." Keats leaned on her fist and absently fed herself the ice cream.

"Just a casual observation." Ryan added. In truth he was extremely jealous, but he recognized the fact that his fears were unfounded. Keats was head over heels for him and only him.

"Very good. There's a reason why your lab reports are exceptional, Mr. Wolfe." Keats said with good-natured sarcasm.

"You have ice cream on your chin."

"Oh? Your fly's undone." Keats said, wiping her chin with a napkin. Ryan leaned closer, his face full of mischievous humor.

"Tell me about Delko before I slather this fudge across your nose." Ryan whispered. Keats gaped in surprise but kept remembering that Ryan was an extremely observant man, no joke.

"Delko? I only know what you told me." Keats began, eyeing his Sundae. She knew he didn't have the guts to pelt her with chocolate sauce. At least, in public.

"Don't give me that, Keats. You must have seen something to be asking all these invasive questions about Delko and Boa Vista and Calleigh. Now what did you see?" Ryan asked very slowly, pointing his spoon at her like a catapult. Keats was unimpressed.

"I might have seen something. But you know I don't go for that whole gossip thing much." Keats said, imitating Ryan's previous admission. They were teasing each other like in the old days and it felt indescribably good. Keats was practically sailing on a cloud.

"Is that all you're going to say on the subject?" Ryan asked. The spoon was poised, and it was like an old fashion showdown from a Clint Eastwood movie.

"So what if it is, Partner?" Keats said, chewing on a toothpick. Ryan returned the spoon to his mouth with a smile. Keats was satisfied. But the game wasn't over yet.

Ryan reached over to Keats, pulling her face closer to his. Keats was excited to think that Ryan was going to kiss her in front of strangers (not because he was shy, certainly). Unfortunately, he merely grabbed her chin and gave her nose a good, chocolately lick.

"Maybe next time I ask, you'll tell me?" Ryan said, polishing off his Sundae and heading off to pay the bill. Keats was frozen in her spot, sputtering.

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Keats snuggled into her sofa with Kiddo on her lap, wondering if she could handle being in love with a person who made her crazy for all the right reasons. She reminisced on all the old times they'd shared, and everything they'd been through together.

They had so much history together. It was both daunting and wonderful. Maybe they'd finally put to rest their fears. They'd proven that the past was no match for their commitment to each other.

"A love for the ages, my darling puppy!" Keats said in her grandiose voice. Kiddo grunted and went couch spelunking. Keats turned on the tv and caught a rerun of the Golden Girls while Kiddo's hind legs wiggled from under the many cushions in Keats' sofa.

"We're certainly a pair." Keats commented confusedly. Kiddo was exhibiting neurotic behavior (this wasn't a new thing by any stretch) and it just now occurred to Keats to worry. Was it possible for a dog to emulate his human friend?

"Although I must admit I've never dived into the couch looking for food." Keats said. She tugged on Kiddo's tiny tail, but the puppy was focused on the prize.

There was a knock at the door a few minutes later that gave Keats a reprieve from her casual concern over Kiddo's behavior.

Keats immediately answered the door and was happy to discover that it was Ryan at the door. Ryan was wearing a slight scowl along with a shirt and jeans. Keats' mouth was watering.

"You didn't ask 'who's there.'" Ryan said. Keats pulled him by the shirt into a deep, long overdue kiss.

"Who's there?" Keats mumbled, then smiled.


	25. If Only

**Sorry about the wait...but coming back to this story is actually kind of cathartic. I hope I can keep it up. :)**

It had been so long. It was like a repeat of her favorite dreams over and over again. But this had to be real. It simply had to be.

"I…I have to wake up." Keats said, breaking another kiss. Ryan's mouth had found its home clasped next to hers, and he wasn't about to get evicted. He continued kissing her feverishly, and then almost as quickly, he held the sides of her face within his strong hands and looked her in the eyes.

"This isn't a dream. I love you." He said. His eyes held something magical, something eternal. Something in his eyes seemed to make the past go away, to make all the bad things fade into oblivion. All that was left was the love that they still shared.

"I…I need you to forgive me." Keats whispered against his cheek. She knew he would forgive her. But she needed the words. She needed them so that she could forgive herself as well.

Ryan gave a determined smile and another invasive kiss before nodding his head slightly.

"You already were." He said. He stroked her face as if rediscovering her for the first time: her soft cheeks, her bright eyes, her mouth…he wanted to be the only man alive who would enjoy these simple things about her. He wanted to be the most important person in her life. The happiest hello and the hardest goodbye. He wanted all of it.

He held his arms around her, giving her an intimate hug that made her feel secure in every sense. He never wanted to let her go, and he would make sure she never had to leave his side.

"But…there are still some things I can't forget…some things I could still never forgive myself for, Ryan. I don't know that you could ever understand…" Keats began, feeling fresh pain from when she'd lost their child. It was something she'd kept locked away in her heart for a long time.

For the better part of a year, Keats had been functioning on auto-pilot, going about her business almost like a zombie. She was numb then, determined not to suffer anymore once she had accepted that she'd lost everything. But now…things were waking up inside her. Things were stirring that she'd hoped she'd never have to face again.

"Keats…" Ryan began. Keats headed toward the sofa, needing desperately to sit down. Her head had become light and she was beginning to feel pangs of remorse and anguish, pricks of jealousy and rage, and a dull, aching sorrow. It was all so much.

Ryan followed her, sitting beside her on the couch. He'd already dealt with a lot of his emotions early on. He spent several weeks at the gym tearing his knuckles on kickboxing equipment thinking of her. He'd spent several weeks after that torturing himself by going through all the websites he'd looked at for baby furniture and supplies. Every night he would dream about Keats in his bed, in his life. Every daydream consisted of what he thought their baby would have looked like and the days at the park they could have had if only. If only.

But in time, Ryan's hate began to cease and the idea that something was standing in the way of their love began to emerge. The rest of those months were spent trying to figure out how, and holding out for the hope that things would eventually change.

"Keats…that doesn't matter anymore…it wasn't your fault. You can't fix what happened. All you can do now is just…accept it. Accept me. Accept that I love you as much as I do. Accept that we can start over."

"Is it really that easy?" Keats asked. A few tears had already made their way down her face and she was glowing with a subdued hope. She wanted to be with him and believe him.

Ryan tucked her in the crook of his arm and there she stayed for a very long time. Long enough for her to think about all that had transpired between them. Long enough for her to realize that she couldn't change anything about the past. Long enough for her to make peace with what happened and how she felt about it all.

However long they stayed in each other's arms didn't matter. They knew now that it was going to be a long hard road ahead of them. The demons were at bay, but they would need to be dealt with again. The troubles were far from over.

Perhaps they'd have many nights of crying and shouting and grieving with each other. But for now, they held each other. They had only just begun to heal.


End file.
